Asian Currencies Rise Against Dollar On Greek Bailout Package

Asian currencies rose against the U.S. dollar on Friday as the Eurozone leaders decision to support a new bailout package for debt-stricken Greece boosted demand for emerging market assets.

Heads of the state or government of the euro area and European Union institutions, together with the International Monetary Fund, agreed on a new program worth EUR 109 billion during a crucial summit held in Brussels, Belgium on Thursday.

This is expected to fully cover the financing gap, and will include voluntary contribution of the private sector, the European Council said in a statement.

Another key element of the rescue plan is the decision to use the European Financial Stability Facility (EFSF) as the financial vehicle for the loan disbursement.

During the summit, it was decided to lengthen the maturity of future EFSF loans to Greece to the maximum extent possible from the current 7.5 years to a minimum of 15 years and up to 30 years with a grace period of 10 years.

Against the US dollar, the Singapore dollar and the Chinese yuan climbed to fresh record highs, hitting 1.2089 and 6.4455, respectively.

The People Bank of China's record high fixing for the yuan parity rate also supported the currency.

The central bank sets the central parity rate for the yuan at 6.4495 per dollar, compared to Thursday's daily reference rate of 6.4536.

The Chinese central bank sets the central parity rate every morning and allows the currency to fluctuate up to 0.5 percent from that level.

Meanwhile, the Malaysian ringgit strengthened to more than a 2-month high of 2.9785 and the Taiwan dollar hit a 1-week high of 28.8175.

Thus far this week, the Singapore dollar has gained 0.9 percent, Chinese yuan advanced 0.3 percent, Malaysian ringgit rose 1 percent and the Taiwan dollar appreciated 0.4 percent.