EM ASIA FX-Most Asian units firm on US-China trade hopes, Indonesian rupiah leads

* Rupee rebounds 0.5 percent up

* India's RBI board meeting due Friday

* Peso weakens slightly ahead of central bank meeting

(Adds text, updates prices)

By Niyati Shetty

Dec 13 (Reuters) - Most Asian currencies strengthened on

Thursday as signs of a thaw in U.S.-China trade tensions

prompted investors to dip their toes back into riskier assets.

The Indonesian rupiah strengthened the most on the

day, firming 0.8 percent against the greenback by 0500 GMT.

In a sign that Beijing is starting to make good on a recent

pledge to buy more U.S. goods, China bought more than 1.5

million tonnes of U.S. soybeans on Wednesday.

In another potential concession, China appears to be easing

its high-tech industrial push dubbed "Made in China 2025", which

has long irked Washington, though there is no word on whether it

has offered more protection for U.S. intellectual property

rights.

The Korean won added half a percent, while the

Thai bhat strengthened 0.3 percent.

The Chinese yuan, the Taiwan dollar and

the Malaysian rinngit also eked out small gains.

INDIAN RUPEE REBOUNDS

The Indian rupee firmed 0.5 percent against the

greenback on Thursday after three sessions of declines. It had

taken a hit this week after the abrupt resignation of the

central bank governor and a rise in global oil prices.

The new head of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), Shaktikanta

Das, said on Wednesday he would consult more closely with the

government on policy issues while offering assurances that he

would defend the RBI's autonomy.

OCBC Bank, in a note to clients said, "the first comments by

new RBI governor served to allay fears on RBI independence, but

suggest some dovish inclinations."

However, markets will keep a close watch on the RBI's board

meeting on Friday. Meanwhile, November retail inflation coming

in at a 17-month low on Wednesday raises the likelihood of a

policy hold in Das' first meeting, and some analysts are

pencilling in a possible rate cut in the first half of 2019.

PHILIPPINE PESO FALTERS

Bucking the regional trend, the Philippine peso

weakened marginally against the dollar ahead of a central bank

policy decision later in the day.

The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) is widely expected to

keep interest rates steady, with inflation seen easing further

after it slowed to a four-month low in November, a Reuters poll

showed.

The pause would follow a tightening cycle in which the bank

raised interest rates by a total of 175 basis points, so far

this year, in the past five consecutive meetings.

The following table shows rates for Asian currencies against

the dollar at 0500 GMT.

CURRENCIES VS U.S. DOLLAR

Currency Latest bid Previous day Pct Move

Japan yen 113.470 113.27 -0.18

Sing dlr 1.371 1.3719 +0.07

Taiwan dlr 30.852 30.881 +0.09

Korean won 1123.100 1128.5 +0.48

Baht 32.680 32.7825 +0.31

Peso 52.600 52.57 -0.06

Rupiah 14485.000 14595 +0.76

Rupee 71.650 72.01 +0.50

Ringgit 4.180 4.183 +0.07

Yuan 6.874 6.8793 +0.08

Change so far in 2018

Currency Latest bid End 2017 Pct Move

Japan yen 113.470 112.67 -0.71

Sing dlr 1.371 1.3373 -2.46

Taiwan dlr 30.852 29.848 -3.25

Korean won 1123.100 1070.50 -4.68

Baht 32.680 32.58 -0.31

Peso 52.600 49.93 -5.08

Rupiah 14485.000 13565 -6.35

Rupee 71.650 63.87 -10.86

Ringgit 4.180 4.0440 -3.25

Yuan 6.874 6.5069 -5.34

(Reporting by Niyati Shetty in Bengaluru; Editing by Kim

Coghill)