* Philippine peso, S. Korean won skid
* Malaysia's Nov. exports drop
* Investors rush to safe-havens gold, yen
(Adds text, updates prices)
By Shriya Ramakrishnan
Jan 3 (Reuters) - Most emerging Asian currencies weakened on
Friday, with major oil importers taking the biggest hit, as oil
prices surged after tensions escalated in the Middle East.
Brent crude futures jumped nearly $3 to their highest since
September on concerns over supply disruption following a U.S.
air strike at Baghdad airport that killed key Iranian and Iraqi
military personnel. O/R
As a result, South Korean won KRW=KFTC weakened as the
Asian economy is one of the largest crude buyers in the world.
It fell 0.8% to hit a more than two-week low.
The Philippine peso PHP= skid 0.7% to mark its worst level
in nearly a month.
Both the won and peso were poised to record a weekly loss of
0.5%.
"Asian currencies had seen quite moderate gains in December.
So, that could be some trigger for profit-taking, especially
with renewed geopolitical uncertainty," Wei-Liang Chang, an FX
and Credit macro strategist at DBS Bank said.
The Japanese yen JPY= , seen as a safe harbour during
times of economic or global tensions due to Japan's status as
the world's creditor nation notched robust gains against the
dollar.
The Indian rupee depreciated 0.4% to the dollar, while the
Indonesian rupiah IDR= also slipped 0.2%. India meets about
80% of its oil needs through imports, making it highly
vulnerable to fluctuations in prices.
Weaker export readings weighed on the Malaysian ringgit
MYR= , which dipped 0.3%. The country's exports dropped for a
fourth straight month in November on lower shipments of
manufactured goods and commodities. The pace of decline was, however, slower than the 6.7% fall
recorded in October.
"Exports growth will probably recover, though any pick-up
may be mild for now," analysts at Mizuho Bank said in a note.
The Singapore dollar SGD= weakened 0.2%, while the Thai
baht was largely flat.
The Chinese yuan CNY=CFXS eased slightly, while the Taiwan
dollar strengthened 0.1%.
CURRENCIES VS U.S. DOLLAR
Change on the day at 0551 GMT
Currency Latest bid Previous day Pct Move
Japan yen 108.130 108.57 +0.41
Sing dlr 1.349 1.3470 -0.16
Taiwan dlr 30.099 30.114 +0.05
Korean won 1167.000 1158.1 -0.76
Baht 30.150 30.15 +0.00
Peso 51.070 50.73 -0.67
Rupiah 13915.000 13884 -0.22
Rupee 71.665 71.37 -0.41
Ringgit 4.098 4.085 -0.32
Yuan 6.971 6.9643 -0.09
Change so far in 2020
Currency Latest bid End 2019 Pct Move
Japan yen 108.130 108.61 +0.44
Sing dlr 1.349 1.3444 -0.36
Taiwan dlr 30.099 30.106 +0.02
Korean won 1167.000 1156.40 -0.91
Baht 30.150 29.91 -0.80
Peso 51.070 50.65 -0.82
Rupiah 13915.000 13880 -0.25
Rupee 71.665 71.38 -0.40
Ringgit 4.098 4.0890 -0.22
Yuan 6.971 6.9632 -0.11