* China's yuan leads losses among regional units
* Korean won firms on Japan's export approval
* Indonesia c.bank to hold key rate on Thursday - poll
(Adds text, updates prices)
By Devika Syamnath
Aug 20 (Reuters) - Most emerging Asian currencies declined
on Tuesday, as the dollar firmed on hopes for fresh stimulus
from global policymakers while the yuan, a bellwether for
regional peers, weakened.
Investors widely expect the U.S. Federal Reserve to cut
rates again in September. The market's focus will be Fed Chair
Jerome Powell's remarks at the annual symposium of global
central bankers starting on Friday at Jackson Hole, Wyoming.
The Chinese yuan CNY=CFXS declined as much as 0.3%,
touching a one-week low, before paring some of the loss.
China's launch on Tuesday of a new lending reference rate,
which saw a small initial cut, did not have a substantial impact
on the yuan. But the change pointed to more easing ahead to seek
to lower corporate borrowing costs. OCBC said in a note that for Asian currencies, recovery of
risk sentiment was offset by a weaker yuan in the wake of
regulatory changes at China's central bank.
"With these divergent pressures, expect the Asian currencies
to potentially drift in different directions for now, although
the overall bias beyond the immediate horizon may still be for a
higher USD-Asia," OCBC said.
At 0558 GMT, the Indian rupee INR=IN and Indonesian rupiah
IDR=ID were both down 0.2%, making them among top decliners in
the region.
On Monday, India said it would exempt shadow lenders from
debenture reserve requirements in an effort to increase the
availability of money for lending. A Reuters poll on Tuesday showed that 17 of 19 economists
expect Indonesia's central bank to keep its key rate on hold on
Thursday. WON ON FIRMER FOOTING
South Korea's won KRW=KFTC bucked the regional trend,
gaining 0.2% on signs of some easing in Seoul's spat with Japan.
Japan has approved shipments of a high-tech material to
South Korea for the second time since imposing export curbs last
month, two sources said. This came ahead of talks by government officials this week
to resolve a dispute stemming from their wartime past.
The won weakened nearly 5% since July.
The following table shows rates for Asian currencies against
the dollar at 0558 GMT.
CURRENCIES VS U.S. DOLLAR
Currency Latest bid Previous day Pct Move
Japan yen 106.530 106.62 +0.08
Sing dlr 1.385 1.3864 +0.09
Taiwan dlr 31.400 31.352 -0.15
Korean won 1208.100 1211 +0.24
Baht 30.810 30.82 +0.03
Peso 52.320 52.39 +0.13
Rupiah 14260.000 14230 -0.21
Rupee 71.580 71.43 -0.21
Ringgit 4.180 4.175 -0.12
Yuan 7.067 7.0509 -0.22
Change so far in 2019
Currency Latest bid End 2018 Pct Move
Japan yen 106.530 109.56 +2.84
Sing dlr 1.385 1.3627 -1.62
Taiwan dlr 31.400 30.733 -2.12
Korean won 1208.100 1115.70 -7.65
Baht 30.810 32.55 +5.65
Peso 52.320 52.47 +0.29
Rupiah 14260.000 14375 +0.81
Rupee 71.580 69.77 -2.53
Ringgit 4.180 4.1300 -1.20
Yuan 7.067 6.8730 -2.74