* Chinese yuan, Korean won and Indian rupee fall most
* Thai baht sole gainer in the region
* Trade conflict may last for extended period -DBS
(Adds text, updates prices)
By Rashmi Ashok
Aug 26 (Reuters) - Most emerging Asian currencies slipped on
Monday, tracking the broader sell-off in equity markets, as
investors scurried away from risky assets amid intensifying
Sino-U.S. trade tensions.
U.S. President Donald Trump on Friday heaped an additional
5% duty on some $550 billion in targeted Chinese goods, just
hours after China unveiled tariffs on $75 billion worth of U.S.
goods. The news shook global markets, leading to sharp sell-offs
across Asian equities and a slump in crude prices, following
Wall Street's nose-dive on Friday.
"It can probably be assumed that tit-for-tat will be the
default strategy in the coming months and reinforces the point
that this conflict will probably last for an extended period,"
DBS Economics and Strategy noted.
The Korean won KRW=KFTC , Chinese yuan CNY=CFXS and
Indian rupee INR=IN were the session's worst performers, all
shedding over 0.6%.
The rupee weakened to as low as 72.170 against the dollar,
hovering at an 8-month trough it touched on Friday.
However, the yuan's losses were curtailed after China fixed
the yuan's midpoint at a relatively steady 7.0570 per dollar,
when it had been trading as weak as 7.1850 offshore CNH=D3 .
Meanwhile, the Thai baht THB=TH was the region's sole
gainer, adding 0.4%.
OCBC said it expects currencies of countries with a current
account deficit such as India, Philippines and Indonesia to
remain inherently vulnerable in the current environment.
This leaves the Thai baht more sheltered and in a position
to outperform the rest of Asia, it added.
The baht is the region's top performer this year, gaining
6.4% so far, owing to a weak dollar, strong foreign fund inflows
and its large current account surplus.
While the Philippine equity market .PSI was closed on
account of a holiday, the peso PHP= traded marginally lower
amid thin volumes, posting the session's smallest loss.
The following table shows rates for Asian currencies against
the dollar at 0507 GMT.
CURRENCIES VS U.S. DOLLAR
Currency Latest bid Previous day Pct Move
Japan yen 105.260 105.39 +0.12
Sing dlr 1.389 1.3868 -0.17
Taiwan dlr 31.493 31.402 -0.29
Korean won 1218.200 1210.6 -0.62
Baht 30.590 30.7 +0.36
Peso 52.500 52.45 -0.10
Rupiah 14260.000 14210 -0.35
Rupee 72.090 71.66 -0.60
Ringgit 4.205 4.19 -0.36
Yuan 7.144 7.0979 -0.65
Change so far in 2019
Currency Latest bid End 2018 Pct Move
Japan yen 105.260 109.56 +4.09
Sing dlr 1.389 1.3627 -1.90
Taiwan dlr 31.493 30.733 -2.41
Korean won 1218.200 1115.70 -8.41
Baht 30.590 32.55 +6.41
Peso 52.500 52.47 -0.06
Rupiah 14260.000 14375 +0.81
Rupee 72.090 69.77 -3.22
Ringgit 4.205 4.1300 -1.78
Yuan 7.144 6.8730 -3.80