The Asian Development Bank on Sunday vowed to maintain its current lending level to support economic development in Asia, a region expected to continue to see robust growth. "We will maintain the lending level of around $10 billion a year, and maintain approximately $2 billion a year over the next three years for India," the ADB's largest borrower, ADB President Takehiko Nakao said at a press conference as the ADB wrapped up its two-day annual meeting in Greater Noida on the outskirts of New Delhi.

Emerging Asia needs to be on guard against "asset bubbles" as central banks globally loosen monetary policy, the Asia Development Bank's managing director warned on Friday. Last month Japan's central bank announced it would pump $1.4 trillion into the economy over the next two years, administering unprecedented financial shock treatment to end two decades of growth stagnation through bold monetary expansion.

The dollar was under pressure in Asian trade Thursday after the US Federal Reserve opted to keep its easy-money policies in place on the back of lacklustre economic data. After wrapping up a policy meeting Wednesday, the US central bank said it would keep its $85 billion a month bond-buying programme in place, and left open the door to more purchases if the world's biggest economy slowed under Washington's severe budget cuts.

The euro moved higher against the dollar for the fourth straight session Wednesday ahead of the policy meeting of the European Central Bank, widely expected to result in an interest rate cut. Poor data on the manufacturing sector and job creation in the United States, coupled with a tepid view of the economy from the Federal Reserve, also put downward pressure on the greenback. At 2100 GMT the euro was at $1.3180, compared to $1.3165 late Tuesday. During the day the currency hit a nine-week high of $1.3243.