Several south-east Asia currencies have dropped again with several hitting record lows against the US dollar before recovering.

The Thai baht, Indonesia rupiah, Malaysian ringgit and Philippine peso all hit new lows. The stock markets in Hong Kong, Malaysia and Singapore also fell, but the main stock indexes in South Korea, Thailand, Australia and New Zealand rose.

A BBC economics correspondent says international investors are losing confidence in the determination of regional governments to resolve their problems and local businesses are scrambling for dollars to meet heavy debt repayments.

The Japanese yen fell to its lowest level against the US dollar in more than five years and prices on the Tokyo Stock Exchange dropped slightly. The Indian rupee was also unsettled, falling to a low of 39.62 against the dollar before regaining its losses at the close of trading.

Malaysian shares tumbled 3.85% after the local currency slid to a historic low of 4.3400 to the dollar in late trading.

Shares also closed sharply lower in Singapore as tumbling regional currencies dealt a blow to market sentiment, dealers said. The benchmark Straits Times Industrials Index fell 56.83 points, or 3.8%, closing at 1,439.12.

Money continues to be printed in Manila despite the currency crisis

In Manila, currency trading was paralyzed for the first 30 minutes of the morning as dealers refused to buy the Philippine peso until officials relaxed volatility limits.

When financial authorities complied, the peso fell more than 6% - one of its largest losses ever - to another record low of 45.209 per dollar. For the day, the peso averaged 44.894 pesos per dollar.

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