EM ASIA FX-Indian rupee slides on reports c.bank gov may resign

* Philippine peso sole gainer for October

* Yuan set for seventh straight monthly loss

* Peso, baht rise tracking local equities

(Adds details on rupee, yuan, updates numbers)

By Ambar Warrick

Oct 31 (Reuters) - The Indian rupee tumbled on Wednesday on

reports that the central bank governor may consider resigning

amid growing policy disagreements with the government.

Most other Asian units edged higher, but were on track to

end October well in the red as global investors continued to

dump riskier assets.

CNBC TV 18 reported that the governor of the Reserve Bank of

India (RBI) was considering stepping down due to differences

with the government. The Economic Times reported that the Indian

government had invoked never-before-used powers to allow it to

issue directions to the RBI.

The rupee fell as much as 0.62 percent to 74.130

per dollar, its weakest in two weeks. Non deliverable forwards

for the rupee had also declined before the currency

started trade. Three-month forwards stood at 74.962 by 0614 GMT.

The currency later stood at 74.055, and was slated to lose

about 2.1 percent in October.

In the early afternoon, India's finance ministry said it

would issue a statement shortly.

Mahesh Singhi, founder and managing director of Singhi

Advisors, said that while the rupee has weakened substantially

this year due to higher oil prices and geopolitical uncertainty

it would probably recover somewhat to the 70-72 level by next

year, in the run-up to the country's general elections.

Meanwhile, the Thai baht and the Philippine peso

edged up about 0.1 percent against the dollar each.

Qi Gao, an FX strategist at Scotiabank, attributed the gains

to rising stock markets. Thai shares gained about 0.8

percent, while Philippine shares were about 1 percent

higher.

Regional equities gained in line with an overnight rebound

in Wall Street. The U.S. dollar also rose following a

rise in U.S. consumer confidence.

The peso was the only currency set for a monthly gain. It

was on track to rise about 0.8 percent in October.

Meanwhile, the Japanese yen edged lower after the

Bank of Japan signalled it was a long way off from exiting

crisis-era stimulus, as widely expected.

CHINESE YUAN

The Chinese yuan was largely flat at 6.967 to the

dollar. Concerns over China's trade war with the United States

has weighed heavily on the yuan this year.

Cooling domestic growth and demand has also raised questions

about sustained growth in the world's second largest economy.

China's manufacturing sector in October expanded at its weakest

pace in over two years.

The currency was set for a loss of about 1.4 percent

expected in October, its seventh consecutive monthly retreat and

its longest such losing streak on record.

The following table shows rates for Asian currencies against

the dollar at 0614 GMT.

CURRENCIES VS U.S. DOLLAR

Change on the day at 0614 GMT

Currency Latest bid Previous day Pct Move

Japan yen 113.230 113.08 -0.13

Sing dlr 1.386 1.3847 -0.08

Taiwan dlr 30.945 30.985 +0.13

Korean won 1138.100 1139.2 +0.10

Baht 33.283 33.3 +0.05

Peso 53.515 53.59 +0.14

Rupiah 15210.000 15222 +0.08

Rupee 74.055 73.68 -0.51

Ringgit 4.181 4.18 -0.02

Yuan 6.967 6.9675 +0.00

Change so far in 2018

Currency Latest bid End 2017 Pct Move

Japan yen 113.230 112.67 -0.49

Sing dlr 1.386 1.3373 -3.50

Taiwan dlr 30.945 29.848 -3.54

Korean won 1138.100 1070.50 -5.94

Baht 33.283 32.58 -2.11

Peso 53.515 49.93 -6.70

Rupiah 15210.000 13565 -10.82

Rupee 74.055 63.87 -13.75

Ringgit 4.181 4.0440 -3.28

Yuan 6.967 6.5069 -6.61

(Reporting by Ambar Warrick in Bengaluru)