MOST Asian currencies were muted on Tuesday as traders exercised caution ahead of this week's U.S. inflation data and a flurry of regional central bank meetings.

The crucial U.S. CPI data, scheduled for release on Wednesday, will take centre-stage for global markets as the timeline for U.S. rate cuts has been gradually delayed.

Traders are now seeing about a 50% chance of the Federal Reserve cutting rates in June, compared to more than 60% last week, according to the CME's FedWatch tool.

In Asia, the Thai baht slipped as much as 0.4%, but recouped some losses to trade modestly higher. It is among the worst performing currencies in the region, having slumped about 6.5% so far this year. Stocks, however, rose 1%.

The Bank of Thailand is likely to stay pat on rates for the third consecutive meeting on Wednesday, a Reuters poll showed, in the midst of middling economic growth and rising pressure from the government to slash rates.

"Actual growth performance this year (for Thailand) is likely to be below potential," Goldman Sachs analysts said in a note.

"With below-potential growth and low inflation, we continue to expect the Bank of Thailand to cut policy rates three times this year," they added.

Central banks in Singapore and South Korea are also due to meet this week, with analysts expecting the banks' policy stances to remain unchanged. The South Korean won and stocks traded marginally lower and down 0.5%, respectively, ahead of legislative elections on Wednesday.

The Singapore dollar, Malaysian ringgit, and Taiwan dollar were unchanged.

In contrast, stocks in Taiwan ended at another record closing high, jumping 1.9%, piggy-backing on Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing winning a $6.6 billion subsidy for advanced semiconductor production in Phoenix, Arizona. Equities in Singapore and India rose 0.9% and 0.4%, while those in Malaysia and China traded about 0.2% and 0.1% lower, respectively.

Markets in Philippines and Indonesia were closed due to public holidays.

Elsewhere, the Israel shekel gained more than 2% on Monday after the central bank held interest rates steady.

HIGHLIGHTS:

** POLL - India inflation likely cooled in March, albeit slightly

** South Korea to invest $7 bln in AI in bid to retain edge in chips

** Japan warns against excessive volatility as yen slides near fresh lows

 - Reuters