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EM ASIA FX-Asian currencies subdued; baht softens after weak GDP

(Adds text, updates prices)

By Aby Jose Koilparambil

Asian currencies were subdued on Monday as cautious investors

tried to strike a balance between a softer dollar and the

potential for further souring of risk appetite.

The Indian rupee, the Chinese yuan and

the Thai baht eased, while the Philippine peso

and the Malaysian ringgit were among the gainers.

The Indonesian rupiah and the Korean won

see-sawed between gains and losses, albeit in a thin range.

"Asian FX may feed on USD vulnerability at the onset of the

week but this may be countered somewhat by the recent

less-than-encouraging data flow out of the region, including

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lower-than-expected 3Q GDP readings out of Malaysia and

Thailand," said OCBC Bank analysts in a note.

The dollar was modestly lower against its key rivals on

Monday after Federal Reserve officials expressed caution over

the global growth outlook, prompting traders to reassess the

pace of future U.S. interest rate increases.

Comments on Friday by Fed Vice Chair Richard Clarida put to

the test market expectations for a steady pace of tightening as

he cautioned about a slowdown in global growth, saying "that's

something that is going to be relevant" for the outlook for the

U.S. economy.

Oil prices, another key factor for net importers in Asia,

rose around 1 percent on Monday as traders expected top exporter

Saudi Arabia to push producer club OPEC to cut supply towards

year-end.

The Indian rupee, exposed to oil liabilities, was off 0.2

percent on the day as crude inched up. It had gained 1.4 percent

last week as oil tumbled.

But Indian markets' main focus was on a Reserve Bank of

India board meeting later in the day, amid government pressure

on the RBI to relax lending curbs and hand over surplus reserves

to the government.

Among other decliners, baht and yuan weakened as much as 0.2

percent each.

The Philippine peso edged higher, firming as much as 0.1

percent, while the ringgit too traded higher, up 0.1 percent.

THAI BAHT

Thailand's economic growth unexpectedly stalled in

July-September, contrary to expectations of some growth in spite

of softer exports and tourism, data showed on Monday.

Southeast Asia's second-largest economy showed no expansion

in July-September from the previous three months on a seasonally

adjusted basis.

The quarterly reading was the weakest since the first

quarter of 2014, when the economy shrank 0.4 percent, and the

baht weakened slightly after the data release.

"The disappointing Q3 GDP makes it more difficult for the

Bank of Thailand to hike in December, despite the vote of 4-3 at

the November MPC meeting," said Frances Cheung, head of macro at

Westpac.

The following table shows rates for Asian currencies against

the dollar at 0516 GMT.

CURRENCIES VS U.S. DOLLAR

Currency Latest bid Previous day Pct Move

Japan yen 112.750 112.82 +0.06

Sing dlr 1.374 1.3719 -0.15

Taiwan dlr 30.896 30.888 -0.03

Korean won 1128.700 1128.5 -0.02

Baht 32.980 32.93 -0.15

Peso 52.640 52.715 +0.14

Rupiah 14618.000 14608 -0.07

Rupee 71.960 71.92 -0.06

Ringgit 4.188 4.19 +0.05

Yuan 6.944 6.9351 -0.13

Change so far in 2018

Currency Latest bid End 2017 Pct Move

Japan yen 112.750 112.67 -0.07

Sing dlr 1.374 1.3373 -2.66

Taiwan dlr 30.896 29.848 -3.39

Korean won 1128.700 1070.50 -5.16

Baht 32.980 32.58 -1.21

Peso 52.640 49.93 -5.15

Rupiah 14618.000 13565 -7.20

Rupee 71.960 63.87 -11.24

Ringgit 4.188 4.0440 -3.44

Yuan 6.944 6.5069 -6.30

(Reporting by Aby Jose Koilparambil in Bengaluru; Editing by

Kim Coghill)