* Indian rupee leads losses
* Rupee slips to over 5-month low
* Indonesian rupiah, S Korean won fall up to 0.3%
*
(Adds detail on markets, comment, updates prices)
By Aby Jose Koilparambil
Aug 13 (Reuters) - Most Asian currencies weakened on
Tuesday, as the prolonged Sino-U.S. trade dispute and a free
fall of the Argentine peso weighed on investors' risk appetite,
while Singapore cutting its full-year growth forecast added more
pressure in the region.
Signals of a drawn out tussle between the U.S. and China
have kept global markets on edge and the lack of any progress in
resolving their differences is a major worry for many Asian
economies, which count Beijing as a top trade partner.
The prospects of a more aggressive approach by China to
tackle the simmering protests in Hong Kong has also triggered a
wave of risk aversion across global markets. In Argentina, the local peso weakened more than 15% against
the dollar after President Mauricio Macri got thumped in
Sunday's primary vote, a stark early warning for the incumbent
ahead of the general election in October. Meanwhile, the Singapore government cut its full-year
forecast range for gross domestic product as global conditions
were seen worsening and data confirmed the slowest growth rate
in a decade amid mounting fears of recession in the city-state.
Singapore's final second quarter GDP data on Tuesday showed
a 3.3% quarter-on-quarter contraction on a seasonally-adjusted
annualised basis, slightly smaller than the 3.4% decline seen in
the government's advance estimate but lower than a 2.9% fall
predicted in a Reuters poll.
"Singapore's sobering downward assessment of 2019 growth
outlook is perhaps the most telling sign that the world is now
bracing for the worse; even as it hopes for better," said Mizuho
Bank's Vishnu Varathan in a note.
The Indian rupee INR=IN led losses on the day, weakening
as much as 0.6% to 71.190 against the dollar, its lowest level
since Feb. 28.
The Indonesian rupiah IDR=ID , the South Korean won
KRW=KFTC and the Thai baht THB=TH depreciated up to 0.3%
each.
The Malaysian ringgit MYR=MY fell as much as 0.2%, while
the Chinese yuan CNY=CFXS , the Singapore dollar SGD= and the
Taiwan dollar TWD=TP depreciated slightly.
CURRENCIES VS U.S. DOLLAR
Change on the day at 0429 GMT
Currency Latest bid Previous day Pct Move
Japan yen 105.480 105.29 -0.18
Sing dlr 1.388 1.3867 -0.07
Taiwan dlr 31.439 31.400 -0.12
Korean won 1218.700 1216.2 -0.21
Baht 30.780 30.72 -0.19
Peso 52.120 52.16 +0.08
Rupiah 14280.000 14245 -0.25
Rupee 71.045 70.80 -0.34
Ringgit 4.191 4.183 -0.19
Yuan 7.063 7.0585 -0.07
Change so far in 2019
Currency Latest bid End 2018 Pct Move
Japan yen 105.480 109.56 +3.87
Sing dlr 1.388 1.3627 -1.80
Taiwan dlr 31.439 30.733 -2.25
Korean won 1218.700 1115.70 -8.45
Baht 30.780 32.55 +5.75
Peso 52.120 52.47 +0.67
Rupiah 14280.000 14375 +0.67
Rupee 71.045 69.77 -1.79
Ringgit 4.191 4.1300 -1.46
Yuan 7.063 6.8730 -2.69