EM ASIA FX-Most Asian currencies firm on U.S.-China trade talk hopes

(Adds text, updates prices)

By Aditya Soni

Nov 13 (Reuters) - Most Asian currencies firmed on Tuesday

on hopes of a thaw in Sino-U.S. trade tensions after reports

that the two sides have resumed high-level discussions.

U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin spoke with Chinese

Vice Premier Liu He by telephone on Friday, the Wall Street

Journal reported on Monday, citing sources.

Liu, China's top trade war negotiator, may visit Washington

as part of preparations for talks between U.S. President Donald

Trump and his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping on the sidelines of

the G20 summit in Argentina late this month, the South China

Morning Post reported, citing sources from both sides.

"The single most bullish thing on the planet right now for

emerging markets, emerging market currencies as well as for the

assets linked to global growth is whether China and the U.S can

get a deal done on trade," said Greg McKenna, an independent

analyst based in Australia.

The Indian rupee and Thai baht firmed 0.5

percent and 0.4 percent, respectively.

The Philippine peso also traded higher, gaining 0.3 percent.

The rupee and peso also benefitted from a sharp fall in oil

prices after Trump put pressure on OPEC not to cut supply to

prop up the market.

The Cyuan strengthened 0.2 percent, its biggest

intraday gain in one-week, as major state-owned Chinese banks

stepped in to pull the currency from near-decade lows.

The Singapore dollar and Korean won firmed

0.2 percent each.

Bucking the trend, the Indonesian rupiah dipped 0.4

percent.

INDIAN RUPEE

The rupee, which led gains among Asian currencies, also saw

a boost from reports of a meeting between India's central bank

governor and Prime Minister Narendra Modi to discuss flash

points between the Reserve Bank of India and the government.

The RBI is considering a loan restructuring package for

small and medium-sized businesses, as well as reviewing lending

curbs on some banks, the Economic Times reported earlier, in a

move that could see the regulator bow to government pressure.

Data on Monday showed India’s retail inflation rate dropped

sharply in October, giving the central bank leeway to allow

easier lending policies.

"Softer inflation profile and lower oil prompts us to revise

our call for rates to be now left on hold in December." Radhika

Rao, an Economist at DBS Group Research said in a note.

The RBI's monetary policy committee unexpectedly left the

repo rate at 6.50 percent last month when markets

had expected a hike.

The following table shows rates for Asian currencies against

the dollar at 0524 GMT.

CURRENCIES VS U.S. DOLLAR

Currency Latest bid Previous day Pct Move

Japan yen 113.990 113.83 -0.14

Sing dlr 1.382 1.3842 +0.19

Taiwan dlr 30.890 30.888 -0.01

Korean won 1131.500 1133.9 +0.21

Baht 32.950 33.095 +0.44

Peso 53.050 53.218 +0.32

Rupiah 14875.000 14810 -0.44

Rupee 72.563 72.89 +0.45

Ringgit 4.190 4.186 -0.10

Yuan 6.952 6.9644 +0.18

Change so far in 2018

Currency Latest bid End 2017 Pct Move

Japan yen 113.990 112.67 -1.16

Sing dlr 1.382 1.3373 -3.21

Taiwan dlr 30.890 29.848 -3.37

Korean won 1131.500 1070.50 -5.39

Baht 32.950 32.58 -1.12

Peso 53.050 49.977 -5.79

Rupiah 14875.000 13565 -8.81

Rupee 72.563 63.87 -11.98

Ringgit 4.190 4.0440 -3.48

Yuan 6.952 6.5069 -6.41

(Reporting by Aditya Soni in Bengaluru; Additional reporting by

Aby Jose Koilparambil; Editing by Kim Coghill)