EM ASIA FX-Most Asian units weaken; Indian rupee plunges as c.bank chief quits

* Rupee slumps as much as 1.6 pct, then pares losses

* Indonesian rupiah is the day's 2nd biggest loser

* Yuan up on hopes for progress in U.S.-China trade talks

(Adds text, updates prices)

By Niyati Shetty

Dec 11 (Reuters) - The Indian rupee plummeted on Tuesday to

a one-month low, before some of loss was pared, in the wake of

the surprise resignation of the country's central bank governor.

The rupee fell as much as 1.6 percent to 72.463 per

dollar in early trade, but by 0505 GMT it had inched back to

72.245.

The governor of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), Urjit

Patel, resigned late on Monday, citing personal reasons, after a

prolonged public spat over policy with the government.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi's government has been putting

pressure on the RBI to ease lending curbs and capital

requirements, and gain some of its capital reserves to help fund

the fiscal deficit ahead of the national elections in May.

"The damage to the image of central bank independence is

already done, as financial markets will likely price in that an

RBI governor’s shelf life partially depends on his/her

willingness to accommodate the government’s wishes," Hugo Erken,

senior economist of Rabobank, said in a note.

Mizuho Bank, in a note said, said "Further rupee selling

pressures could continue, until there is certainty on what the

government intends to do with the RBI."

On Tuesday, other regional Asian currencies continued to

weaken against the dollar as uncertainties of global growth

continued to dampen sentiment.

"There is a plethora of factors fuelling nervousness in the

market, including but not limited to worries about the US

economy, said Mitul Kotecha, senior emerging markets strategist

at TD Securities.

"One can argue that the backdrop is not a good one," he

said.

Tuesday's second biggest loser among regional currencies was

the Indonesia rupiah, which fell 0.6 percent, even as the

country's central bank said it would intervene in currency and

bond markets to ensure it remains stable.

“I think the FX interventions aren’t going to be so

aggressive that they run down FX reserves dramatically," Kotecha

said. "In an environment where everything is weakening you don’t

want to stand against the tide."

Also slipping against the dollar were the Korean won

, the Philippine peso and the Malaysian ringgit

.

Bucking Tuesday's trend, the Singapore dollar gained

slightly on safe-haven buying.

CHINESE YUAN CLIMBS

The yuan rose 0.1 percent to 6.902 a dollar,

edging away from the psychologically important 7 per dollar

level.

The currency was lifted by news that Beijing and Washington

are discussing the next steps in their trade talks, but its

advance were likely be limited due to the dollar’s gains over

Brexit worries.

China announced on Tuesday that Vice Premier Liu He had

spoken with U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin and Trade

Representative Robert Lighthizer to move the talks forward.

The following table shows rates for Asian currencies against

the dollar at 0505 GMT.

CURRENCIES VS U.S. DOLLAR

Currency Latest bid Previous day Pct Move

Japan yen 113.080 113.33 +0.22

Sing dlr 1.373 1.3742 +0.10

Taiwan dlr 30.870 30.877 +0.02

Korean won 1129.500 1126.5 -0.27

Baht 32.820 32.8 -0.06

Peso 52.850 52.787 -0.12

Rupiah 14635.000 14550 -0.58

Rupee 72.245 71.34 -1.26

Ringgit 4.178 4.17 -0.19

Yuan 6.902 6.9099 +0.11

Change so far in 2018

Currency Latest bid End 2017 Pct Move

Japan yen 113.080 112.67 -0.36

Sing dlr 1.373 1.3373 -2.59

Taiwan dlr 30.870 29.848 -3.31

Korean won 1129.500 1070.50 -5.22

Baht 32.820 32.58 -0.73

Peso 52.850 49.93 -5.53

Rupiah 14635.000 13565 -7.31

Rupee 72.245 63.87 -11.59

Ringgit 4.178 4.0440 -3.21

Yuan 6.902 6.5069 -5.72

(Reporting by Niyati Shetty in Bengaluru; Editing by Richard

Borsuk)