Asia's currency rout seen taking the edge off monetary easing

Bangkok

ASIAN currencies' drop to the weakest this decade will probably deter regional central banks from easing monetary policies as the prospects of higher US rates spurred capital outflows.

Indeed, they are more likely to be stepping in to smooth declines in their currencies - the rupee's drop on Thursday reportedly prompted intervention from the Reserve Bank of India. The Bloomberg-JPMorgan Asia Dollar Index has tumbled to the weakest since 2009, the Philippine peso cracked 50 per dollar for the first time since the global financial crisis and forwards traders are expecting Malaysia's ringgit to drop within a week to levels last seen in 1998.