By Jongwoo Cheon
SINGAPORE (Reuters) - Most emerging Asian currencies took a breather ahead of scheduled speeches by the U.S. Federal Reserve officials, while the dollar's consolidation provided some support for regional units.
Earlier, emerging Asian currencies got a lift from a solid Australian dollar after the country's stronger-than-expected employment report reduced expectations of a near-term interest rate cut.
Indonesia's rupiah was slightly firmer on higher share-prices.
The U.S. dollar drifted lower against a basket of six major currencies as investors took profits from a recent rally on strong United States jobs data.
Also Read
Asian currencies gave up earlier gains as investors stayed cautious ahead of speeches later in the day by key Fed officials including Chair Janet Yellen and New York Fed President William Dudley amid firm expectations of a U.S. interest rate hike in December.
The South Korean won turned weaker on dollar demand from local importers for payments.
"We will see some consolidation for Asia FX in the near-term," said Khoon Goh, senior FX strategist for ANZ in Singapore.
"But the trend is still towards more weakness due to policy divergence with U.S. hiking rates while we see some central banks in Asia easing and also growth divergence with Asian GDP growth easing."
RUPIAH
The rupiah edged up as Indonesia's stocks rose 0.6 percent, outpacing most regional peers.
Most of the rupiah's non-deliverable forwards strengthened, supporting spot.
Still, the currency pared some of earlier gains on local corporate dollar demand.
WON
The won started the day firmer and extended gains as offshore funds bought the currency.
But the South Korean currency then weakened on dollar demand from local importers for payments, which made traders to cover short positions in the greenback.
Currency investors ignored Thursday's central bank decision to leave interest rates steady as it was widely expected.
* India's currency and debt markets are closed on Thursday for public holidays.
(Editing by Richard Borsuk)
