EM ASIA FX-Most Asian currencies slip, Fed policy meeting in focus

* S. Korean won loses most * Investors await Fed policy decision on Wednesday * Indian rupee, Indonesian rupiah face pressure from oil spike (Adds text, updates prices) By Shreya Mariam Job Sept 17 (Reuters) - Most Asian currencies weakened on Tuesday against a stronger dollar, with the South Korean won leading declines, as heightened Middle East tensions and the U.S. Federal Reserve's upcoming meeting curbed risk appetite. Investors adopted a wait-and-watch stance ahead of the Federal Reserve rate decision with the market largely expecting a 25 basis point cut on Wednesday. Fed policymakers are divided over the need for further rate cuts. In June, about half of policymakers expected a total of two rate cuts this year while another half thought no rate cuts would be appropriate. Meanwhile, the weekend attacks on Saudi Arabian crude facilities, which fuelled U.S.-Iran tensions and buoyed oil prices, continued to pressure the currencies of net oil importers and risk sensitive economies. "Most affected, (by the Saudi oil outage) it would seem, are countries like Japan, Korea and India - big buyers of Saudi oil plus high energy dependency ratios," analysts at ING wrote. The South Korean won declined the most among Asian currencies, slipping 0.5%. The Indian rupee and the Indonesian rupiah weakened 0.3% and 0.4%, respectively. Higher oil prices run the risk of widening a country's trade deficit, exerting downward pressure on its currency. On the other hand, the jump in crude prices continued to support the greenback. Against a basket of six major currencies, the dollar strengthened 0.4% on Monday. The currency stood at 98.630 by 0552 GMT. The Malaysian ringgit also weakened 0.4% following a public holiday on Monday. CHINESE YUAN The Chinese yuan weakened 0.3% against the dollar. Data showed that China's new home prices grew at their weakest pace in nearly a year in August. This followed weak August factory data on Monday that showed signs of increasing weakness in an economy which has been bruised by the trade war and soft domestic demand. Meanwhile, the People's Bank of China partially rolled over loans but kept the lending rate unchanged, a sign it is willing to maintain adequate credit to support a slowing economy but is wary of excessive stimulus. The following table shows rates for Asian currencies against the dollar at 0604 GMT. CURRENCIES VS U.S. DOLLAR Change on the day at 0604 GMT Currency Latest bid Previous day Pct Move Japan yen 108.200 108.12 -0.07 Sing dlr 1.376 1.3748 -0.09 Taiwan dlr 30.971 31.002 +0.10 Korean won 1189.300 1183.1 -0.52 Baht 30.570 30.5 -0.23 Peso 52.270 52.31 +0.08 Rupiah 14095.000 14035 -0.43 Rupee 71.813 71.59 -0.31 Ringgit 4.178 4.163 -0.36 Yuan 7.088 7.0685 -0.28 Change so far in 2019 Currency Latest bid End 2018 Pct Move Japan yen 108.200 109.56 +1.26 Sing dlr 1.376 1.3627 -0.97 Taiwan dlr 30.971 30.733 -0.77 Korean won 1189.300 1115.70 -6.19 Baht 30.570 32.55 +6.48 Peso 52.270 52.47 +0.38 Rupiah 14095.000 14375 +1.99 Rupee 71.813 69.77 -2.84 Ringgit 4.178 4.1300 -1.15 Yuan 7.088 6.8730 -3.03 (Reporting by Shreya Mariam Job in Bengaluru Editing by Jacqueline Wong )