EM ASIA FX-Asian currencies subdued by uncertainty over US tax reform plans

(Adds text, updates prices)

By Aditya Soni

Nov 13 (Reuters) - Most Asian currencies were subdued on

Monday as uncertainty about U.S. President Donald Trump's tax

reform plans checked investor enthusiasm.

The head of the House of Representatives' tax-writing

committee said on Sunday he would not accept elimination of a

federal deduction for state and local taxes, opposing a proposal

from Senate Republicans that would hike taxes for some middle

class Americans.

"Digesting tax reform banter is an unsavoury business as

even the ambient noise is triggering unusual moves across asset

classes which has traders scurrying looking for answers,"

Stephen Innes, head of trading in Asia-Pacific for Oanda in

Singapore, wrote in a note.

"But when usual correlations break down, it creates

conflicting messages producing a scrambled picture and price

discovery becomes virtually impossible," he said.

The dollar was also pressured by worries over possible

delays to Trump's tax plans, but it managed to move up slightly

in Asia.

The dollar index was up versus a basket of currencies

during the session, underpinned by a rise in long-term U.S.

Treasury yields on Friday.

The South Korean won led the losses among

regional currencies, falling 0.3 percent, in tandem with the

KOSPI stock index which eased 0.5 percent as investor

appetite for riskier assets ebbed.

The Chinese yuan, Taiwan dollar and

Singapore dollar all lost ground marginally.

Nudging in the positive direction, the Thai baht

advanced 0.1 percent to a near 4-week high, while the Malaysian

ringgit also firmed slightly.

The ringgit was supported by Bank Negara Malaysia's hawkish

stance, while Thailand's strong fundamentals underpinned the

baht, said Qi Gao, FX Strategist at Bank of Nova Scotia.

Malaysia's central bank said on Thursday it may consider

reviewing the current degree of monetary accommodation given

strength of global and domestic macroeconomic conditions.

Inflation for full-year 2017 is expected to come in at the

higher end of its forecast range of 3-4 percent.

The Bank of Thailand senior director Don Nakornthab said

exports could grow more than the forecast 8 percent this

year.

INDIAN RUPEE

The Indian rupee softened 0.2 percent to its lowest

in over a month, ahead of the release of its inflation data

expected later in the day.

A Reuters poll forecast India's retail inflation to have

sped up to a seven-month high in October, led by a rebound in

food prices as unexpected rains destroyed crops, diminishing the

chances of further interest rate cuts.

A majority of the India's central bank's Monetary Policy

Committee voted to keep rates steady last month on concerns that

rising consumer prices would threaten the central bank's

medium-term inflation target of 4 percent.

The following table shows rates for Asian currencies against

the dollar at 0532 GMT.

CURRENCIES VS U.S. DOLLAR

Change on the day

at 0532 GMT

Currency Latest bid Previous day Pct Move

Japan yen 113.640 113.53 -0.10

Sing dlr 1.361 1.3600 -0.04

Taiwan dlr 30.193 30.172 -0.07

Korean won 1120.200 1117.1 -0.28

Baht 33.070 33.11 +0.12

Peso 51.210 51.245 +0.07

Rupiah 13552.000 13530 -0.16

Rupee 65.333 65.16 -0.26

Ringgit 4.185 4.19 +0.12

Yuan 6.647 6.6411 -0.08

Change so far

Currency Latest bid End 2016 Pct Move

Japan yen 113.640 117.07 +3.02

Sing dlr 1.361 1.4490 +6.50

Taiwan dlr 30.193 32.279 +6.91

Korean won 1120.200 1207.70 +7.81

Baht 33.070 35.80 +8.26

Peso 51.210 49.72 -2.91

Rupiah 13552.000 13470 -0.61

Rupee 65.333 67.92 +3.96

Ringgit 4.185 4.4845 +7.16

Yuan 6.647 6.9467 +4.52

(Reporting by Aditya Soni in Bengaluru)