* S. Korean won leads regional declines
* Trading subdued as most regions closed for holidays
* Yuan on track for third straight day of declines
(Adds text, updates prices)
By Shriya Ramakrishnan
May 25 (Reuters) - Most Asian currencies dipped on Monday as
a worsening rift between the United States and China over new
security laws on Hong Kong fuelled risk aversion, while trading
activity was subdued with most regions closed for holidays.
Proposed national security laws by China on the former
British colony after last year's pro-democracy unrest drew the
ire of thousands of Hong Kong residents, who rallied on Sunday.
Washington also warned China's legislation could lead to
U.S. sanctions, while it added 33 Chinese companies and other
institutions to an economic blacklist. A mounting economic toll from the coronavirus pandemic and
souring relations between Washington and Beijing have rattled
financial markets this year, with both sides trading barbs over
the outbreak including accusations of cover-ups and lack of
transparency.
The trade-sensitive South Korean won KRW=KFTC fell the
most in the region, weakening up to 0.5% against the greenback.
Markets will now shift focus to South Korea's central bank
policy meeting on Thursday, with analysts at Goldman Sachs
expecting Bank of Korea to cut interest rates by 25 basis points
to combat weaker domestic sentiment and exports.
Financial markets in Singapore, Malaysia, India, Indonesia
and the Philippines were closed for a public holiday, though the
offshore counterpart of the Singapore dollar SGD= traded
marginally lower.
The Taiwan dollar TWD=TP and Thai baht THB=TH eased 0.2%
and 0.3%, respectively.
The Chinese yuan CNY=CFXS edged lower against a firmer
dollar, putting the local unit on track for a third straight
session of declines.
China's central bank on Monday lowered its official yuan
midpoint to the weakest since the 2008 global financial crisis,
reflecting losses in the currency on Friday after Beijing's
proposed new national security law for Hong Kong. CURRENCIES VS U.S. DOLLAR
Change on the day at
0411 GMT
Currency Latest bid Previous day Pct
Move
Japan yen 107.720 107.61 -0.10
Sing dlr 1.426 1.4250 -0.06
Taiwan dlr 30.056 30.009 -0.16
Korean won 1242.800 1237 -0.47
Baht 31.960 31.88 -0.25
Yuan 7.138 7.1310 -0.10
Change so far in 2020
Currency Latest bid End 2019 Pct
Move
Japan yen 107.720 108.61 +0.83
Sing dlr 1.426 1.3444 -5.71
Taiwan dlr 30.056 30.106 +0.17
Korean won 1242.800 1156.40 -6.95
Baht 31.960 29.91 -6.41
Yuan 7.138 6.9632 -2.45