EMERGING MARKETS-Asian currencies downbeat, Indonesian rupiah unmoved after rate decision

* Bank Indonesia keeps benchmark rate unchanged at 5.75% * Malaysian ringgit top laggard among peers * Singapore dollar eyes losses for fourth straight session By Jaskiran Singh May 25 (Reuters) - Asian currencies were in a sombre mood on Thursday as traders flocked to safe-haven assets amid a potential U.S. debt ceiling deadlock, while the Indonesian rupiah remained unmoved after its central bank kept rates unchanged. This was the fourth consecutive meeting in which policy rates were kept unchanged. Bank Indonesia (BI) Governor Perry Warjiyo said that core inflation was seen staying within target range and headline inflation was seen returning to target in the third quarter. "We believe this is a single step toward a dovish stance from BI," said Fakhrul Fulvian, an economist at Trimegah Securities. "If the current situation is to be maintained, we believe BI to start its interest rate cut cycle by August or September this year." The Indonesian rupiah, which was down 0.4%, remained unchanged, hovering around its lowest level since early April, while stocks in Jakarta were down 0.5%. Earlier in the day, data showed Singapore's economy shrank 0.4% on a quarter-on-quarter seasonally-adjusted basis, a reversal from the 0.1% growth in the fourth quarter of 2022. The Singapore dollar depreciated 0.3%, eyeing losses for a fourth straight session, while its benchmark shares fell 0.2%. "We keep Singapore's GDP growth at 2.0% in 2023, with recovery momentum likely to be observed in the second half of the year," said Barnabas Gan, senior economist at RHB Singapore. Elsewhere in Asia, the Malaysian ringgit was the top laggard among peers. It slid 0.6%, eyeing its seventh straight session of losses and holding near mid-November lows. Analysts at Maybank attributed this to China's weak recovery and falling commodity prices, among others. The Philippine peso and Thai baht skidded 0.6% and 0.2%, respectively. The Chinese yuan slipped 0.2% while stocks in Shanghai fell 0.2%, hitting new lows on account of the widening U.S.-China trade and technology dispute. "The key reasons for such weakness have been the lacklustre leading economic data out from China and the 'inaction' of People's Bank of China (PBoC) to implement more accommodative monetary policies," said Kelvin Wong, senior market analyst, Asia Pacific at OANDA. Globally, investor sentiment remained weak given the lack of progress on raising the U.S. government's $31.4 trillion debt ceiling ahead of a June 1 deadline. Additionally, the Commerce Department's April personal consumption expenditure (PCE) index reading, the Fed's preferred inflation gauge, is due on Friday. HIGHLIGHTS: ** Indonesia, Malaysia to visit Brussels over concern about EU deforestation law ** ANALYSIS-As gas reserves wane, Philippines faces rising costs in switch to LNG ** Malaysia's Khazanah prices $1.5 bln sukuk, conventional bond offerings -term sheet Asia stock indexes and currencies at 0705 GMT COUNTRY FX RIC FX FX INDE STOCK STOCK DAILY YTD % X S S YTD % DAILY % % Japan -0.09 -6.07 <.N2 0.39 18.04 25> China EC> India -0.12 -0.05 <.NS -0.19 0.81 EI> Indones -0.35 +4.15 <.JK -0.49 -2.02 ia SE> Malaysi -0.63 -4.72 <.KL -0.07 -5.81 a SE> Philipp -0.55 -0.64 <.PS -0.84 -0.09 ines I> S.Korea 11> Singapo -0.27 -0.98 <.ST -0.19 -1.33 re I> Taiwan +0.01 -0.27 <.TW 0.82 15.24 II> Thailan -0.16 -0.35 <.SE -0.03 -7.95 d TI> (Reporting by Jaskiran Singh and Navya Mittal in Bengaluru; Editing by Janane Venkatraman)