EM ASIA FX-Most Asian units fall as yuan slides, China cools on trade talks

* Yuan set for 5th straight weekly loss * Singapore dollar hits 5-mth low; April exports -10% y/y * Philippine peso falters; C.bank to cut RRR (Adds text, updates prices) By Niyati Shetty May 17 (Reuters) - Most emerging Asian currencies weakened on Friday as the yuan fell through a key support level and China appeared to cool on further trade talks with the United States. The yuan declined as much 0.4% to 6.9099, inching closer to the psychologically important 7 per dollar mark. The currency hit its weakest level in nearly 5 months. A Chinese state media social media account said the United States is not sincere about wanting to resume trade talks with China and has damaged the atmosphere for negotiations with its recent moves. Without sincerity there was no point in coming for talks and nothing to talk about, Taoran Notes, a WeChat account run by the Economic Daily, said in a post late on Thursday that was re-posted by the ruling Communist Party's official People's Daily. The tougher tone came two days after Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said he will likely travel to Beijing soon to continue discussions as the two sides try to salvage talks aimed at ending their months-long trade war. "This answer is likely to weigh on the region as growth forecasts may be revised downwards in Asia (due to the escalating trade conflict), thus creating, with capital outflows, negative pressure on currencies," said Chang Wei Liang, FX strategist at Mizuho Bank. Talks between the world's largest economies rapidly deteriorated earlier this month after Trump hiked tariffs on Chinese goods in the midst of negotiations and Beijing retaliated with higher duties on U.S. products. The Korean won and the Taiwan dollar each weakened 0.3%, while the Indian rupee lost 0.2%. Also weighing on the region's currencies, the greenback held near a two-week high against its peers on Friday, buoyed by strong U.S. economic data and a bounce in Treasury yields. Meanwhile, the Singapore dollar softened as much as 0.3% to its lowest level in 5 months. Data released earlier in the day showed the island's non-oil domestic exports fell 10% in April from a year ago, worse than the 6% decline predicted in a Reuters poll. The Thai baht led declines in Asia, softening up to 0.6%. Thailand's finance minister on Thursday said the country's economic growth in the first quarter may not look good due to weaker exports. Official gross domestic product data for the first three months of the year is due next week. The Indonesian rupiah eased up to 0.2% during the session but was largely flat by 0520 GMT after the central bank intervened in markets again to shore up the currency, which is poised for a fourth straight week of losses. Bank Indonesia on Thursday kept its key interest rate unchanged at 6.00% as expected, while the governor hinted he wants to cut but cannot do it due to the country's wide current account deficit and global risks. Adding to concerns, the central bank deputy governor earlier in the day said liquidity in the banking system is "heading toward tightness" and financing may become an issue as it looks to support economic growth. But officials said the bank would ensure liquidity remained ample. PESO FALTERS AS C.BANK SLASHES RRR The Philippine peso softened up to 0.2% on Friday, after declining as much as 0.6% during the previous session, after the central bank announced hefty cuts in the reserve requirement ratio (RRR) for banks. RRR will be cut by two percentage points in three stages between May and July, which will bring the ratio to 16%. "Coupled with a policy rate cut last week, we believe real rates in the Philippines have peaked and there is little impetus for the peso to strengthen from here." Chang said in a note. The following table shows rates for Asian currencies against the dollar at 0520 GMT. CURRENCIES VS U.S. DOLLAR Currency Latest bid Previous day Pct Move Japan yen 109.660 109.84 +0.16 Sing dlr 1.375 1.3723 -0.20 Taiwan dlr 31.272 31.165 -0.34 Korean won 1195.000 1191.5 -0.29 Baht 31.740 31.58 -0.50 Peso 52.553 52.496 -0.11 Rupiah 14440.000 14445 +0.03 Rupee 70.195 70.03 -0.24 Ringgit 4.173 4.163 -0.24 Yuan 6.909 6.8840 -0.36 Change so far in 2019 Currency Latest bid End 2018 Pct Move Japan yen 109.660 109.56 -0.09 Sing dlr 1.375 1.3627 -0.89 Taiwan dlr 31.272 30.733 -1.72 Korean won 1195.000 1115.70 -6.64 Baht 31.740 32.55 +2.55 Peso 52.553 52.47 -0.16 Rupiah 14440.000 14375 -0.45 Rupee 70.195 69.77 -0.61 Ringgit 4.173 4.1300 -1.03 Yuan 6.909 6.8730 -0.52 (Reporting by Niyati Shetty in Bengaluru, Additional Reporting by Aditya Soni; Editing by Kim Coghill)