EM ASIA FX-Asia currencies subdued ahead of Fed meet; Taiwan dollar edges up

* Taiwan dollar edges up 0.2 percent

* S. Korean won at near 2-week low

* U.S. Fed policy projections in focus

(Adds details, updates prices)

By Ambar Warrick

March 19 (Reuters) - Most Asian currencies softened versus

the dollar on Monday, marking a slow start to a potentially

tense week amid caution ahead of a key U.S. Federal meeting.

Markets are bracing for Federal Reserve Chair Jerome

Powell's first monetary policy meeting on Tuesday and a widely

expected 25 basis point rate hike. The key focus is, however on

whether policy makers forecast four rate hikes this year,

instead of the three projected earlier.

"Consensus suggests the hurdle is high for the Fed to shift

to four dots, but markets are on guard and with good reason,"

said Stephen Innes, head of trading, Asia Pacific, Oanda.

"While a March rate hike is a foregone conclusion, many Fed

policymakers have upgraded their growth outlook for 2018."

Recent data supports economic optimism, such as U.S.

industrial production that surged in February, boosted by strong

increases in output at factories and mines.

While this has underpinned the dollar, the greenback

continues to be pressured by concerns U.S. trade tariffs could

hurt the global economy. It was down about 0.2 percent against

the Japanese yen on Monday.

REGIONAL CURRENCIES

The South Korean won shed about 0.5 percent and

fell to a near 2-week low. The country is in discussions with

the United States over amendments to an existing bilateral free

trade agreement, known as KORUS.

The Philippine peso also fell, clocking its worst

intraday session in nearly 3 weeks. A current account deficit in

the country has weighed heavily on the peso, which ranks among

the worst performing regionals for the year.

The Singapore dollar and the Thai baht

were also lower.

TAIWAN DOLLAR

However, the Taiwan dollar rose about 0.2 percent

to the dollar. The currency has been underpinned by strong

economic fundamentals, and is considered to be undervalued, as

opposed to its regional peers.

Taiwan's export orders likely grew at a much slower pace in

February than the previous month, but the softening was likely

due to the timing of the Lunar New Year holidays, not a sudden

weakening in global demand, a Reuters poll showed.

U.S. President Donald Trump on Friday signed legislation

that encourages the United States to send senior officials to

Taiwan to meet Taiwanese counterparts and vice versa, angering

China, which views the self-ruled island as a wayward

province.

The following table shows rates for Asian currencies against

the dollar on Monday.

CURRENCIES VS U.S. DOLLAR

Change on the day at 0448 GMT

Currency Latest bid Previous day Pct Move

Japan yen 105.780 106 +0.21

Sing dlr 1.319 1.3173 -0.11

Taiwan dlr 29.185 29.231 +0.16

Korean won 1071.000 1066.2 -0.45

Baht 31.214 31.18 -0.11

Peso 52.060 51.93 -0.25

Rupiah 13761.000 13745 -0.12

Rupee 65.025 64.93 -0.15

Ringgit 3.911 3.907 -0.10

Yuan 6.333 6.3290 -0.06

Change so far in 2018

Currency Latest bid End 2017 Pct Move

Japan yen 105.780 112.67 +6.51

Sing dlr 1.319 1.3373 +1.41

Taiwan dlr 29.185 29.848 +2.27

Korean won 1071.000 1070.50 -0.05

Baht 31.214 32.58 +4.38

Peso 52.060 49.93 -4.09

Rupiah 13761.000 13565 -1.42

Rupee 65.025 63.87 -1.78

Ringgit 3.911 4.0440 +3.40

Yuan 6.333 6.5069 +2.75

(Reporting by Ambar Warrick in Bengaluru; Editing by Himani

Sarkar)