Broader Asian currencies were flat on Friday, but were headed for some weekly gains

Most Asian currencies kept to a tight range on Friday. Asian forex was sitting on weekly gains, with the yen among the best performers on emerging doubts over fiscal spending and interest rates.

The yen firmed on Friday, with the USD/JPY pair dropping 0.2%. The pair was also down nearly 0.7% this week.

Bank of Japan Governor Kazuo Ueda said on Thursday that the central bank will keep raising interest rates if confidence in achieving its economic targets improves.

While Ueda did not give any clear cues on when and by how much rates would increase, his comments helped keep the yen underpinned. Ueda’s comments also come just weeks before a late-October BOJ meeting.

The yen was supported by some doubts over increased fiscal spending, as recently-elected Liberal Democratic Party leader Sanae Takaichi’s prime ministerial bid hit a snag.

Takaichi’s election as the LDP leader had sparked deep losses in the yen, a bulk of which the yen reversed this week.

Broader Asian currencies were flat on Friday, but were headed for some weekly gains.

Most Asian currencies clocked weekly gains.

The yuan’s USD/CNY pair was flat on Friday, and was trading down about 0.2% this week. The yuan was seen taking support from a series of strong midpoint fixes by the People’s Bank, which largely offset weak inflation data.

The Australian dollar’s AUD/USD pair declined 0.2%, and was nursing some weekly losses after dismal jobs data ramped up bets for more interest rate cuts by the Reserve Bank of Australia.

The won’s USD/KRW pair gained 0.2% on Friday, but was trading down 0.7% this week.

The Singapore dollar’s USD/SGD pair dropped marginally after data showed Singapore’s non-oil exports rebounded sharply in September.