EM ASIA FX-Indonesian rupiah hits 8-mth high, most unchanged

(Adds text, updates prices)

By Aditya Soni

Feb 6 (Reuters) - The Indonesian rupiah firmed to an

eight-month peak on Wednesday, boosted by robust growth data,

while most other currencies in the region remained subdued in

holiday-thinned trade.

The rupiah, which has outperformed most of its

regional peers since the turn of the year, firmed 0.5 percent

after data showed Indonesia's economy posted slightly faster

than forecast growth in the fourth quarter and its full-year

2018 expansion was the best in five years.

"The (emerging) markets are a lot more instinctive to

bullishness after the Fed shifted its stance" said Jeffrey

Halley, a senior market analyst at OANDA, Singapore.

The outlook for emerging Asian units has improved this year,

after massive capital outflows in 2018, aided by a dovish turn

of the U.S. Federal Reserve and signs of progress in the long

drawn Sino-U.S. trade war.

However, market holidays and absence of catalysts kept most

other currencies range bound, with the units hardly reacting to

U.S. President Donald Trump's State of the Union address.

We have been through the State of the Union speech, so

unless there is some big news, I think the movements will be

limited this week, Halley said.

The Indian rupee ticked up 0.1 percent, benefiting

from weakness in oil prices, which could help lower the

economy's massive oil bills.

The Singapore dollar slid 0.1 percent, while the Thai

baht firmed 0.1 percent.

The Chinese yuan, South Korean won,

Taiwan dollar and Malaysian ringgit did not

trade due to market holidays.

The following table shows rates for Asian currencies against

the dollar at 0549 GMT.

CURRENCIES VS U.S. DOLLAR

Change on the day at 0549 GMT

Currency Latest bid Previous day Pct Move

Japan yen 109.770 109.96 +0.17

Sing dlr 1.353 1.3515 -0.08

Baht 31.260 31.28 +0.06

Peso 52.290 52.285 -0.01

Rupiah 13885.000 13950 +0.47

Rupee 71.523 71.56 +0.05

Change so far in 2019

Currency Latest bid End 2018 Pct Move

Japan yen 109.770 109.56 -0.19

Sing dlr 1.353 1.3627 +0.75

Taiwan dlr 30.745 30.733 -0.04

Korean won 1118.800 1115.70 -0.28

Baht 31.260 32.55 +4.13

Peso 52.330 52.47 +0.27

Rupiah 13885.000 14375 +3.53

Rupee 71.530 69.77 -2.46

Ringgit 4.090 4.1300 +0.98

Yuan 6.734 6.8730 +2.06

(Reporting by Aditya Soni in Bengaluru; Editing by Rashmi Aich)