* S. Korean won, rupee lead declines
* China's onshore yuan flat
* Philippine peso bucks trend with 0.2% rise
(Adds text, updates prices)
By Shriya Ramakrishnan
Nov 28 (Reuters) - Most emerging Asian currencies trod water
on Thursday, amid fears that efforts to end the U.S.-China trade
war could suffer as Beijing threatened "counter measures" after
U.S. President Donald Trump signed legislation backing
protesters in Hong Kong.
"All eyes will be on what kind of responses China would
muster, and whether it would derail the trade negotiations,"
analysts at OCBC Bank in Singapore said in a note.
Export-focused South Korean won KRW=KFTC , among the most
vulnerable to developments on the trade front, depreciated 0.2%
to its weakest level against the dollar in nearly a month.
Focus will now turn to a Bank of Korea policy meeting on
Friday, when it is widely expected to stand pat, a Reuters poll
showed.
Meanwhile, a separate poll showed another month of
double-digit contraction for South Korea's exports in November.
China's onshore yuan CNY=CFXS was largely flat against the
dollar, despite a firmer fixing by the central bank.
The Singapore dollar SGD= and Malaysian ringgit MYR=
eased 0.1% each, while the Thai baht THB=TH was flat.
Thailand's central bank governor on Thursday expressed
concern about the rapid strengthening of the baht, and said the
central bank has steadily taken action to prevent the currency
from rising too fast.
Governor Veerathai Santiprabhob said that while there were
no clear measures yet, the central bank may consider allowing
more non-banks to compete in the market. The Philippine peso PHP= was among the few outliers,
strengthening 0.2% after two days of declines.
INDIAN RUPEE
The Indian rupee INR= weakened 0.2% on the day, ahead of
the release of July-September economic growth figures on Friday.
Two television channels reported on Wednesday, citing
government sources, the growth would slow to around 4.0%. The
Indian economy expanded 5.0% in the April-June quarter, which
was more than a six-year low. "Banking and real estate sectors need to improve for INR
outlook to improve meaningfully. In the short term, inflows and
those hunting for yields could still keep INR supported,"
Christopher Wong, senior FX Strategist at Maybank Singapore
said.
A Reuters poll expects the Indian economy to expand 4.7% in
the second quarter, and the Reserve Bank of India to cut
interest rates in December for a sixth time this year, though it
may only have a limited impact on the economy. CURRENCIES VS U.S. DOLLAR
Change on the day at 0540 GMT
Currency Latest bid Previous day Pct Move
Japan yen 109.430 109.55 +0.11
Sing dlr 1.366 1.3649 -0.06
Taiwan dlr 30.501 30.515 +0.05
Korean won 1179.700 1177.2 -0.21
Baht 30.233 30.233 +0.00
Peso 50.740 50.86 +0.24
Rupiah 14095.000 14090 -0.04
Rupee 71.500 71.35 -0.21
Ringgit 4.172 4.17 -0.05
Yuan 7.027 7.0279 +0.01
Change so far in 2019
Currency Latest bid End 2018 Pct Move
Japan yen 109.430 109.56 +0.12
Sing dlr 1.366 1.3627 -0.22
Taiwan dlr 30.501 30.733 +0.76
Korean won 1179.700 1115.70 -5.43
Baht 30.233 32.55 +7.67
Peso 50.740 52.47 +3.41
Rupiah 14095.000 14375 +1.99
Rupee 71.500 69.77 -2.42
Ringgit 4.172 4.1300 -1.01
Yuan 7.027 6.8730 -2.20