Tokyo - The dollar on Friday remained under selling pressure against major and emerging currencies with the ringgit on track to make its biggest weekly advance since 1998.
The Malaysian currency jumped 2.38 percent against the US unit in morning trade - a more than six percent rise for the week - while the Indonesian rupiah advanced 3.18 percent, and the Taiwanese dollar rose 0.91 percent.
Federal Reserve meeting minutes from Thursday have raised expectations the US central bank will not hike rates any time soon, boosting many higher-yielding, or riskier, units.
Emerging market currencies have been hammered in recent months as expectations of a US rate rise built up, while China's economic growth slowed.
Beijing's shock devaluation of its yuan in August also triggered a sweeping sell-off across global markets that wiped trillions in valuations.
That led to investors pulling their money out of riskier economies such as Indonesia and Thailand as they looked for safer returns back in the United States.
However, with the Fed's rate plans now muddied, bets are on a 2016 hike, bringing some much-needed confidence back to emerging markets this week.
Against more safe haven units the dollar traded at 119.93 yen from 119.92 yen.
The euro rose to $1.1278 early on Friday afternoon from $1.1275. Against the yen, the single-currency changed hands at 135.23 yen compared with 135.26 yen.
“The minutes showed the Fed was more dovish on inflation expectations, so unless these improve, it will be difficult for the Fed to start raising rates,” Hiroshi Kurihara, chief US economist at Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ in New York told Bloomberg News.
“The dollar in the near-term will likely be pressured by slightly improving risk sentiment - due largely to a recovery in oil prices - that has underpinned resources currencies,” Kurihara added.
Policymakers at the September 16-17 meeting of the Federal Open Market Committee decided to keep unchanged the zero-level federal funds rate, as some members expressed concern that low inflation, well below the Fed's 2.0 percent target, has persisted despite a moderately growing economy.
The Thai baht rose 0.27 percent, the Singapore dollar increased 0.30 percent, the South Korean won gained 0.95 percent, and the Philippine peso was up 0.37 percent.
The Australian dollar fell 0.10 percent against the US unit.
AFP