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EM ASIA FX-Most Asian currencies down on the week on Brexit jitters

(Updates prices, adds text)

By Masayuki Kitano

SINGAPORE, June 17 (Reuters) - Asian currencies were

generally steady versus the dollar on Friday, but most were on

track for weekly losses as investors fretted about the risk that

Britain may vote to leave the European Union in a referendum

next week.

The South Korean won eased 0.1 percent versus the

dollar, with trade having calmed down after early volatile trade

following a fake report on the death of North Korean leader Kim

Jong Un which rattled foreign exchange markets.

The Indian rupee edged up 0.2 percent on the day,

outperforming regional peers after data on Thursday showed that

India came within a whisker of a trade surplus in the first

quarter.

A recent rise in the Reserve Bank of India's foreign

exchange reserves to a record high has been another supportive

factor for the rupee, said Wu Mingze, FX trader of global

payments for financial services provider INTL FCStone in

Singapore.

Amid the focus on Britain's June 23 referendum on EU

membership, most Asian currencies were on track for weekly

losses. The losses were mild, however, as the U.S. Federal

Reserve signalled a cautious approach to raising interest rates

and that weighed on the dollar.

The ringgit led the weekly declines with a drop of

0.9 percent versus the dollar.

Bucking the broader trend, the Singapore dollar has

risen 0.7 percent this week, outshining its regional peers.

The Singapore dollar is regarded as a safe haven currency

within the region because of Singapore's current account surplus

and triple-A sovereign rating.

INDONESIAN RUPIAH

The rupiah held steady, showing resilience in the

wake of a surprise interest rate cut by Indonesia's central bank

on Thursday.

Bank Indonesia (BI) cut both its current and future

benchmark rates by 25 basis points to 6.50 percent and 5.25

percent, respectively.

Indonesia's central bank will ease monetary policy further

if there is room to do so, deputy governor Perry Warjiyo said on

Friday, a day after Bank Indonesia cut interest rates.

SINGAPORE DOLLAR

The Singapore dollar's nominal effective exchange rate

(NEER) has strengthened to around 100 basis points above the

mid-point of the Monetary Authority of Singapore's (MAS) policy

band, according to estimates by analysts at Citi.

The rise in the Singapore dollar NEER may have been

exaggerated by safe haven flows, they said in a research note.

"If Brexit were to happen, whether MAS re-centres the band

downwards will depend on its assessment of the real economy,

which may depend heavily on incoming data," the Citi analysts

said.

"While an outsized surge in financial market volatility may

trigger market speculation on band-widening, we do not see an

immediate urgency to do so, as MAS can simply tolerate larger

swings within the existing policy band," they added.

The MAS manages policy by letting the Singapore dollar rise

or fall against the currencies of its main trading partners

within an undisclosed policy band based on its nominal effective

exchange rate (NEER).

CURRENCIES VS U.S. DOLLAR

Change on the day at 0632 GMT

Currency Latest bid Previous Pct Move

day

Japan yen 104.34 104.25 -0.09

Sing dlr 1.3504 1.3485 -0.14

Taiwan dlr 32.373 32.391 +0.06

Korean won 1172.26 1171.40 -0.07

Baht 35.28 35.22 -0.17

Peso 46.440 46.430 -0.02

Rupiah 13360 13365 +0.04

Rupee 67.16 67.28 +0.18

Ringgit 4.1040 4.1000 -0.10

Yuan 6.5885 6.5917 +0.05

Change so

far in 2016

Currency Latest bid End prev Pct Move

year

Japan yen 104.34 120.30 +15.30

Sing dlr 1.3504 1.4177 +4.98

Taiwan dlr 32.373 33.066 +2.14

Korean won 1172.26 1172.50 +0.02

Baht 35.28 36.00 +2.04

Peso 46.44 47.06 +1.34

Rupiah 13360 13785 +3.18

Rupee 67.16 66.15 -1.50

Ringgit 4.1040 4.2935 +4.62

Yuan 6.5885 6.4936 -1.44

(Additional reporting by Dahee Kim in Seoul; Editing by Simon

Cameron-Moore)

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