Emerging Asian currencies rose on Friday and most were set to see weekly gains after the European Central bank (ECB) said it was ready to buy bonds of troubled euro zone members. The rupee has risen 2.3% against the dollar so far this week, becoming the best performer in the region. The rupee was poised to see a fifth week of appreciation, which would be the longest weekly winning streak since early February, the data showed, as the government took more reform measures to lure foreign investment.

The South Korean won hit a nearly one-year high on bids from offshore funds, while the Taiwan dollar enjoyed inflows from foreign financial institutions.
Asian shares and the euro were firmer after ECB president Mario Draghi said that the bank has a “fully effective backstop mechanism in place” to buy the bonds of troubled euro zone states such as Spain when they request aid.