EM ASIA FX-Most Asian units slip, but baht hits 3-1/2 month high

* Most currencies fall on dollar strength, China data

* Thai baht gains as much as 0.4 percent

* Indian rupee hurt by higher oil prices

(Adds context on baht, rupee and dollar)

By Ambar Warrick

Oct 1 (Reuters) - The Thai baht strengthened to a 3-1/2

month high on Monday after September's higher-than-expected

inflation rate led some traders to expect higher interest rates

eventually, while most other Asian units fell against the U.S.

dollar.

Thailand's headline consumer price index rose 1.33 percent

from a year earlier, slightly above the 1.3 percent seen in a

Reuters poll.

The Bank of Thailand (BOT) has not changed its key lending

rate since 2015, but there have been signs that the country

will later join others in Asia in following the U.S. Federal

Reserve and tightening monetary policy.

Qi Gao, FX strategist with Scotiabank, said the prospect of

future Thai tightening supported the baht, although a rate hike

was not expected in the near term.

The baht gained as much as 0.4 percent, reaching

32.20 to the dollar.

Regional units started the quarter on a subdued note as

general resilience for the U.S. dollar, coupled with weaker

Chinese manufacturing data, weighed on Asian sentiment.

Growth in China's manufacturing sector sputtered in

September as both external and domestic demand weakened, two

surveys showed, implying that its trade spat with the United

States may be taking a heavier toll on its economy than

expected.

Scotiabank's Gao said market participants were awaiting U.S.

payroll data later in the week that should help indicate the

dollar's direction.

The dollar was slightly higher after the United

States and Canada reached a framework deal to update the North

American Free Trade Agreement on Monday. The currency gained

nearly 1 percent over the past week.

The Indian rupee shed nearly 0.5 percent to the

dollar. Higher oil prices have battered the rupee, as the

country imports a bulk of its crude oil needs.

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) is likely to raise interest

rates on Oct. 5 to prop up the rupee, according to a Reuters

poll of economists who also trimmed their near-term economic

growth forecasts.

The Philippine and Indonesian central banks had hiked their

key rates last week.

The peso, rupiah and the rupee are the worst performing

currencies in Asia this year.

The Philippine peso fell about 0.2 percent to the dollar for

the day.

China's markets are closed for the week, for holidays, so

the yuan did not trade.

The following table shows rates for Asian currencies against

the dollar at 0443 GMT.

CURRENCIES VS U.S. DOLLAR

Change on the day

Currency Latest bid Previous day Pct Move

Japan yen 113.860 113.68 -0.16

Sing dlr 1.371 1.3663 -0.31

Taiwan dlr 30.516 30.551 +0.11

Korean won 1111.000 1109.3 -0.15

Baht 32.230 32.33 +0.31

Peso 54.075 53.965 -0.20

Rupiah 14900.000 14900 +0.00

Rupee 72.815 72.48 -0.46

Ringgit 4.141 4.137 -0.10

Change so far in 2018

Currency Latest bid End 2017 Pct Move

Japan yen 113.860 112.67 -1.05

Sing dlr 1.371 1.3373 -2.42

Taiwan dlr 30.516 29.848 -2.19

Korean won 1111.000 1070.50 -3.65

Baht 32.230 32.58 +1.09

Peso 54.075 49.93 -7.67

Rupiah 14900.000 13565 -8.96

Rupee 72.815 63.87 -12.28

Ringgit 4.141 4.0440 -2.34

Yuan 6.873 6.5069 -5.32

(Reporting by Ambar Warrick in Bengaluru)