Most Asian currencies firmed on Friday, as risk appetite improved marginally after the White House signaled that President Donald Trump will only decide on joining the Iran-Israel war in two weeks.
The dollar retreated after the announcement, giving back some gains made earlier this week after the Federal Reserve struck a hawkish note at its latest meeting.
Trump will only decide on whether to strike Iran within the next two weeks, the White House said, helping clear some concerns that a U.S. strike on Iran– which is expected to be a major escalation in the conflict– was imminent.
Improving risk appetite limited gains in the Japanese yen, although the currency was buoyed by hotter-than-expected consumer price index inflation data, as well as hawkish minutes from the Bank of Japan.
China’s yuan showed little reaction to the People’s Bank leaving its benchmark loan prime rate unchanged, with the USDCNY pair falling 0.1%.
The Australian dollar’s AUDUSD pair rose 0.3%, recovering mildly from sharp losses in the prior session, while the South Korean won’s USDKRW pair slid 0.7%.
The Indian rupee’s USDINR pair fell 0.3%, while the Singapore dollar’s USDSGD pair fell 0.2%.
