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EM ASIA FX-Asian currencies slide on hawkish Fed minutes; yuan hits 21-month low

* Fed minutes weigh on EM currencies

* S.Korean won top loser

* Investors await China GDP data

(Adds details on won, yuan and rupiah, updates prices)

By Sumeet Gaikwad

Oct 18 (Reuters) - Asian currencies slipped against the

dollar on Thursday as hawkish Federal Reserve minutes reinforced

expectations for more rate hikes, heightening concerns about the

widening interest rate spread between the United States and

emerging markets.

South Korea's won led declines and the yuan weakened to

levels last seen in January 2017.

The minutes from the Fed's Sept. 25-26 meeting showed every

Fed policymaker backed raising interest rates and also generally

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agreed borrowing costs were set to rise further, despite U.S.

President Donald Trump's view that the tightening have already

gone too far.

Emerging economies have been playing catch-up with rising

U.S. interest rates this year, deferring investments and slowing

growth as dollar-denominated debts become harder to pay.

"If this situation of rising long-end Treasury yields and a

firmer dollar persists, emerging markets could find it hard to

bear," Mizuho Bank said in a note.

The South Korean won was the biggest loser in the

region, falling 0.59 percent at 1,133.20 against the dollar.

The Chinese yuan was off 0.19 percent at 6.936

against the dollar, its weakest in nearly two years.

The People's Bank of China (PBOC) set Thursday's official

midpoint fix at 6.9275, its weakest since January 2017.

A steep overnight drop in global oil prices cushioned the

fall of the Indonesian rupiah, which declined 0.26

percent against the dollar.

Meanwhile, the Japanese yen, largely considered a

safe-haven currency, strengthened 0.12 percent.

Indian financial markets were closed for a holiday.

WON TAKES A BEATING

South Korea's central bank kept monetary policy steady for a

seventh straight month on Thursday, but flagged concerns about

mounting household debt and financial stability, suggesting it

could look at a rate hike as soon as November.

However, while some saw the meeting as hawkish, the Bank of

Korea's downgrade of its gross domestic product growth forecasts

for this year amid trade war concerns and declining exports was

of some concern.

"It (central bank) is trying to balance both sides of risk

as the economy has been improving but at the same time the

outlook is still queasy because of trade war risk," said Sim Moh

Siong, FX strategist at Bank of Singapore.

A tit-for-tat trade war has left South Korea's export sector

vulnerable, with shipments declining 8.2 percent in September

from a year earlier, their biggest drop in over two years.

YUAN WEAKENS

The yuan has lost over 6 percent this year, and is poised to

post a fifth straight session of declines as a strong dollar and

China growth concerns hurt risk appetite.

Investors awaited China gross domestic product data due on

Friday for clues on the effects of the ongoing trade war on the

wider economy.

"If the PBOC is passive then there is a likelihood you could

get a negative feedback loop in terms of market pushing the

dollar stronger against Asian currencies," said Sim at Bank of

Singapore.

The U.S. government refrained from naming China or any

other trading partner as a currency manipulator in the

semi-annual FX report, as it leans on import tariffs to try to

cut a trade deficit with China.

A falling yuan will exacerbate the trade surplus China has

with the U.S.

The following table shows rates for Asian currencies against

the dollar at 0526 GMT.

CURRENCIES VS U.S. DOLLAR

Change on the day at 0526 GMT

Currency Latest bid Previous day Pct Move

Japan yen 112.500 112.64 +0.12

Sing dlr 1.378 1.3780 -0.02

Taiwan dlr 30.942 30.850 -0.30

Korean won 1133.200 1126.5 -0.59

Baht 32.590 32.51 -0.25

Peso 53.940 53.89 -0.09

Rupiah 15190.000 15150 -0.26

Ringgit 4.154 4.149 -0.12

Yuan 6.936 6.9235 -0.19

Change so far in 2018

Currency Latest bid End 2017 Pct Move

Japan yen 112.500 112.67 +0.15

Sing dlr 1.378 1.3373 -2.97

Taiwan dlr 30.942 29.848 -3.54

Korean won 1133.200 1070.50 -5.53

Baht 32.590 32.58 -0.03

Peso 53.940 49.93 -7.43

Rupiah 15190.000 13565 -10.70

Ringgit 4.154 4.0440 -2.65

Yuan 6.936 6.5069 -6.19

(Reporting by Sumeet Gaikwad in Bengaluru; Editing by Sam

Holmes)