EM ASIA FX-Asia FX set fo weekly slide on Greek fears, U.S. rate hike chances

* Won falls on offshore funds, yen/won short-covering

* Singapore dollar leads weekly Asia FX losses

(Adds text, updates prices)

By Jongwoo Cheon

SINGAPORE, June 26 (Reuters) - Most emerging Asian

currencies slid on Friday to notch weekly losses as investors

shied away from riskier assets while Greece stood on the brink

of default, and economic data strengthened expectations that

U.S. interest rates will rise later this year.

"Greece is the X factor. It is difficult to see how that

plays out," said Jonathan Cavenagh, senior FX strategist with

Westpac in Singapore.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel, whose country is Greece's

biggest creditor, said the next meeting of Eurogroup ministers

on Saturday would be "of decisive importance", as time was

running out before a repayment to the International Monetary

Fund falls due on Tuesday.

"It will depend on how EUR trades but my underlying bias is

to buy USD/Asia dips as U.S. data remains on the improving

trend. Any EUR rebound which benefits EM Asia currencies is

going to be short lived," Cavenagh said.

South Korea's won led declines on Friday, falling

for a fourth consecutive session, as offshore funds retreated.

Some investors cut bullish bets on the won against the yen

. Japan's household spending in May rose for the first

time in more than a year and the jobless rate was steady at the

lowest in 18 years. That compared with a slowing

South Korea's economy.

Sentiment toward Asian currencies also turned weaker after

U.S. consumer spending recorded its largest increase in nearly

six years in May, supporting expectations for a U.S. rate hike.

A Reuters poll on Thursday showed that despite the

underlying bearishness toward Asian currencies, short positions

had fallen after the Fed indicated it may hike interest rates

more slowly and on earlier hopes that Greece would reach a deal

to avert a default.

SINGAPORE DOLLAR, WON UNDERPERFORM

Most emerging Asian currencies were already set to suffer

weekly losses, led by the Singapore dollar.

The city-state's currency has lost 0.8 percent against the

U.S. dollar, according to Thomson Reuters' data. Singapore's

annual core inflation in May hit a five-year low, the

government's data showed on Tuesday.

The won followed the Singaporean unit with a 0.7 percent

loss. Earlier on Friday, the currency fell to 1,117.3 per

dollar, its weakest since June 17.

The South Korean currency has lost 0.7 percent against the

dollar so far this week, Thomson Reuters data showed.

South Korea on Thursday cut its forecasts for this year's

growth and inflation, announcing a financial package of more

than 15 trillion won, including a supplementary budget.

"The market expected the authorities to fortify a policy for

a weaker won," said Jeong My-young, Samsung Futures' research

head in Seoul.

Jeong doubted that the won could weaken much further, adding

exporters will chase it for settlements around 1,120 per dollar.

The won is unlikely to extend slide against the yen, given

continuous Japan's quantitative easing, she added.

The Malaysia's ringgit has lost 0.6 percent so far

this week. There were concerns that Fitch ratings agency was

preparing to downgrade Malaysia's credit rating, partly as a

result of debts run up by state fund 1MDB.

Thailand's baht has fallen 0.3 percent so far this

week, while India's rupee has eased 0.1 percent.

CURRENCIES VS U.S. DOLLAR

Change on the day at 0540 GMT

Currency Latest bid Previous day Pct Move

Japan yen 123.32 123.64 +0.26

Sing dlr 1.3440 1.3431 -0.07

Taiwan dlr 30.893 31.052 +0.51

Korean won 1114.41 1110.00 -0.40

Baht 33.77 33.78 +0.01

Peso 45.13 45.14 +0.01

Rupiah 13305.00 13325.00 +0.15

Rupee 63.62 63.62 +0.00

Ringgit 3.7626 3.7565 -0.16

Yuan 6.2096 6.2094 -0.00

Change so far in 2015

Currency Latest bid End prev year Pct Move

Japan yen 123.32 119.66 -2.97

Sing dlr 1.3440 1.3260 -1.34

Taiwan dlr 30.893 31.718 +2.67

Korean won 1114.41 1099.30 -1.36

Baht 33.77 32.90 -2.58

Peso 45.13 44.72 -0.91

Rupiah 13305.00 12380.00 -6.95

Rupee 63.62 63.03 -0.93

Ringgit 3.7626 3.4965 -7.07

Yuan 6.2096 6.2040 -0.09

(Editing by Simon Cameron-Moore)