EM ASIA FX-Singapore dlr firms, offshore turns bullish on peso

* Asia currencies inch up against broadly weaker dollar

* Singapore dollar strengthens vs U.S. currency, ringgit

* Peso steady but onshore players expect further gains

By Kevin Yao

SINGAPORE, Nov 3 (Reuters) - Asian currencies firmed on
Tuesday as investors took comfort from further evidence of an
economic recovery around the world, with the Singapore dollar
rising against both U.S. dollar and Malaysian ringgit .

The dollar remained under pressure after falling broadly on
Monday following U.S. reports showed sharp improvements in
manufacturing, construction and housing, which encouraged
investors to buy higher yielding assets.

But Asian investors were cautious ahead of the Federal
Reserve's two-day policy meeting which began on Tuesday.

The U.S. central bank is widely expected to keep rates
unchanged but there is a chance the Fed will drop its pledge
to
keep rates low for an extended period of time. [ID:nFEDAHEAD]

SINGAPORE DOLLAR, RINGGIT

Singapore dollar SGD= rises almost 0.4 percent to 1.3961
to the U.S. dollar, but its strength was contained by
intervention fears.

"Investors are worried about the Authority stepping in,"
said a Singapore-based trader.

Singapore dollar was consolidating in recent sessions after
a strong rally against the U.S. currency since early September.

Meanwhile, the Singapore dollar firmed a tad to 2.4451
ringgit SGDMYR=R, extending its strengthening streak since
mid-October.

"We expect the pair to remain supported, perhaps targeting
the 2.4680 area," said Emmanuel Ng, strategist at OCBC Bank.

The Singapore dollar's rise reflects the country's steep
recovery, but the central bank kept its zero appreciation
policy unchanged last month and sounded wary on the economic
outlook.

PESO

The Philippine peso PHP= held steady near 47.645 per
dollar after a long weekend, while offshore investors turned
more bullish on the currency on optimism over fund inflows.

"Long weekend here meant more remittance inflows compared
to any usual weekend, and since we were off yesterday, the
markets did not react as much to the fall in U.S. equities on
Friday," said a Manila-based trader, who expected the peso to
move between 47.50-47.80 for the day.

One-month dollar/peso NDFs PHP1MNDFOR= eased to 47.77,
roughly at par with the spot rate, while one-month onshore
dollar/peso forwards PHP1M= was traded around 47.80.

"One-month NDFs are indicated at +0.11 peso compared to
onshore points of +0.16, indicating offshore markets are
pricing in peso appreciation," added the dealer.
CURRENCIES VS U.S. DOLLAR
Change on the day at 0520 GMT
Currency Latest bid Previous day Pct Move
Japan yen 90.24 90.33 +0.10
Sing dlr 1.3967 1.4010 +0.31
Taiwan dlr 32.518 32.553 +0.11
Korean won 1180.40 1182.50 +0.18
Baht 33.40 33.42 +0.06
Peso 47.65 47.63 -0.03
Rupiah 9545.00 9555.00 +0.10
Rupee 47.01 46.96 -0.10
Ringgit 3.4190 3.4240 +0.15
Yuan 6.8277 6.8279 +0.00
Change so far in 2009
Currency Latest bid End prev year Pct Move
Japan yen 90.24 90.60 +0.40
Sing dlr 1.3967 1.4340 +2.67
Taiwan dlr 32.518 32.860 +1.05
Korean won 1180.40 1259.50 +6.70
Baht 33.40 34.80 +4.19
Peso 47.65 47.52 -0.26
Rupiah 9545.00 11000.00 +15.24
Rupee 47.01 48.71 +3.63
Ringgit 3.4190 3.4500 +0.91
Yuan 6.8277 6.8230 -0.07
(Editing by Tomasz Janowski)