Asian Currencies Post Weekly Loss as Fed Rate Bets Boost Dollar

Asian currencies completed a weekly loss, led by the Singapore dollar and Malaysia’s ringgit, as the U.S. dollar climbed amid speculation the Federal Reserve is on track to raise interest rates this year.

U.S. housing starts surged to seven-year high in April while average jobless claims fell over the past month, reports showed this week. Fed officials remain open to tightening in 2015 though a June liftoff in rates is unlikely, according to the minutes of their April meeting released Wednesday. A preliminary gauge of manufacturing in China, Asia’s biggest economy, missed estimates in May even after borrowing costs were cut for the third time since November.