EM ASIA FX-Singapore dollar at 3-week high on safe-haven plays; Asia FX firm

* Ringgit up on fixing demand; intervention spotted

* Baht gains on more short-covering

* Rupiah advances as bond inflows expected

(Adds text, updates prices)

By Jongwoo Cheon

SINGAPORE, Feb 4 (Reuters) - The Singapore dollar hit a near

three-week high on Tuesday as global risk aversion fuelled

safe-haven demand, leading gains among emerging Asian currencies

as the region is seen better positioned than other emerging

markets.

The Malaysian ringgit advanced on bids linked to

daily fixing and with the central bank spotted intervening to

support the currency, traders said.

Indonesia's rupiah gained as foreign banks and

state-run lenders bought it ahead of a bond auction on

Wednesday. The Thai baht rose as investors continued to

cover short positions.

That compared to losses in other emerging market currencies

such as the Brazilian real and the Turkish lira.

"Asia shouldn't suffer as much fallout as other emerging

market regions. And of course a fair degree of bad news is

already in the price," said Jonathan Cavenagh, senior FX

strategist with Westpac in Singapore.

Still, it is premature to add bullish bets on emerging Asian

currencies, given growing risk aversion, analysts and traders

said.

U.S. manufacturing activity slowed sharply in January and

China's factory growth eased to an expected six-month low.

"The market bias remains to buy dips in USD/Asia and that

seems unlikely to change in the near term," Cavenagh said.

"We have to wait for a turnaround in data momentum within

the Asia region and a softer U.S. picture to emerge, which may

calm fears about an aggressive tapering schedule."

SINGAPORE DOLLAR

The Singapore dollar rose 0.4 percent to 1.2703 to

the U.S. dollar, its strongest since Jan. 15, as investors

sought safer assets in Asia with the city-state's triple A

ratings.

The currency found more support from demand against the

ringgit and the baht. The ringgit fell to

its lowest since July 1998 to the Singapore dollar.

BAHT

The baht gained as offshore funds and local interbank

speculators covered short positions.

The number of anti-government protesters appears to have

dwindled, even though the opposition party will challenge the

weekend's disrupted elections in court.

A Thai bank trader said the baht may be well supported as

investors appeared to hold bearish bets despite sustained

concerns over political tensions.

"Ignore poor performance in equities," said the trader.

RUPIAH

The rupiah rose, tracking its gains in non-deliverable

forwards and on expectations of bond inflows.

The government aims to raise 10 trillion rupiah ($817

million) in a bond auction on Wednesday.

"I expect inflows for the tomorrow's auction after the trade

balance data," said a Jakarta-based trader, referring to the

December surplus, which was the largest in two years.

The rupiah may head to 12,150 per dollar, but the rebound

may be a good chance for importers to buy the greenback, the

trader added.

WON

The won earlier lost as much as 0.5 percent to 1,089.9 per

dollar, its weakest since Sept. 9, as continuous foreign selling

pushed Seoul shares to their lowest in more than five

months.

The South Korean currency recovered most of the earlier

losses as exporters' bids for settlements prompted stop-loss

dollar selling with chart support lines around 1,092 and 1,094.

It has the 38.2 percent Fibonacci retracement at 1,092.3 of

its appreciation between June and January. The 200-day moving

average also stands at 1,093.8.

Offshore funds were not really interested in selling the won

either, traders said.

"The won's recent losses were excessive compared to other

Asian currencies," said a foreign bank trader in Singapore,

adding that the won is seen moving between 1,075 and 1,085.

The won was the worst performing Asian currency so far this

year with a 2.7 percent loss against the dollar, according to

Thomson Reuters data.

CURRENCIES VS U.S. DOLLAR

Change on the day at 0430 GMT

Currency Latest bid Previous day Pct Move

Japan yen 101.28 100.97 -0.31

Sing dlr 1.2703 1.2758 +0.43

*Taiwan dlr 30.350 30.376 +0.09

Korean won 1085.00 1084.50 -0.05

Baht 32.86 32.95 +0.27

Peso 45.43 45.41 -0.03

Rupiah 12210.00 12235.00 +0.20

Rupee 62.72 62.56 -0.26

Ringgit 3.3375 3.3465 +0.27

*Yuan 6.0600 6.0600 0.00

Change so far in 2014

Currency Latest bid End prev year Pct Move

Japan yen 101.28 105.28 +3.94

Sing dlr 1.2703 1.2632 -0.56

Taiwan dlr 30.350 29.950 -1.32

Korean won 1085.00 1055.40 -2.73

Baht 32.86 32.86 +0.00

Peso 45.43 44.40 -2.27

Rupiah 12210.00 12160.00 -0.41

Rupee 62.72 61.80 -1.47

Ringgit 3.3375 3.2755 -1.86

Yuan 6.0600 6.0539 -0.10

* Financial markets in China and Taiwan are closed for

holidays.

($1 = 12,240 rupiah)

(Additional reporting by IFR Markets Catherine Tan; Editing by

Chris Gallagher)