Asia Currencies Fall This Week as Growth Concerns Spur Outflows

Asian currencies dropped this week, led by South Korea’s won, as global funds trimmed holdings of regional shares on concern economic growth and corporate earnings will be hurt by interest-rate increases.

Overseas investors pulled $3.8 billion from stock markets in South Korea, Taiwan and Thailand during the week, exchange data show. China’s central bank raised interest rates for the third time in four months, joining India, Indonesia, South Korea and Thailand in having boosted borrowing costs this year to tame inflation. Vietnam devalued the dong by about 7 percent yesterday, the most since at least 1993, to help rein in the nation’s trade deficit.