EM ASIA FX-Peso rallies, rest sidelined by yen volatility

* Peso rallies half a percent, central bank buys dollars

* Dubai fears ebb, but NDF players hesitate to buy Asia

* Yen volatile as BOJ, RBA hold meetings

SINGAPORE, Dec 1 (Reuters) - The Philippine peso rallied
half a percent against the dollar on Tuesday, erasing last
week's losses over Dubai debt worries and with the central bank
leaning lightly against its rally.

Most other Asian currencies were however barely changed,
sidelined as traders focused on a rate rise in Australia and a
surprise policy meeting in Japan and the yen's sharp drop and
rise around that event.

The Bank of Japan said it would introduce a new operation
to provide 3-month funds at a fixed rate of 0.1 percent,
disappointing a market that had positioned itself for
aggressive quantitative easing or action to halt the yen at its
14-year highs against the dollar.

PESO

Philippine markets opened after Monday's local holiday to
heavy dollar inflows from remittances accumulated over the long
weekend.

Peso non-deliverable forwards (NDFs) widened still, even
after the peso recovered from the sell-off triggered last week
by worries over a possible Dubai debt default.

The currency rose half a percent to 46.90 per dollar.
One-year NDFs were at 90 points, implying a 2 percent
depreciation in the peso, and up from 48 points a week earlier.

The spot market was focused on year-end inflows of foreign
exchange from overseas workers.

"People are keeping short dollar positions alive with the
view that remittances will kick in. The BSP is on the slow bid
however," said a trader in Manila.

"I am seeing dollar/peso buying flows as well, as those who
didn't cut on Friday are doing so today," said another NDF
trader.

BAHT

The baht THB= was steady and listless, nursing losses
after the Dubai debt woes [ID:nGEE5A02FN] but lacking the
momentum to rally.

"Although the dollar takes on a slightly softer tone this
morning and the jitters on Dubai seem to have eased, the
direction of baht and Thai stocks is unclear as the approaching
year-end season could raise demand for dollars," a
Bangkok-based trader said.

Dollar/baht was bid at 33.20, a steady level hardly moving
from late Monday and compared with a week ago. The baht has
gained about 0.63 percent in the past month.

YUAN NDFS

There was likewise little movement in the yuan, barring an
early bid for dollars in NDFs.

Chinese yuan NDFs seemed set for a 6.6-6.65 per dollar
range in the one-year tenor in the coming days after Chinese
authorities signalled reluctance to let the currency appreciate
and markets seemed still wary of taking on positions after the
Dubai debt scare.

Traders cited early dollar buying interest, which petered
out after 6.6370 was taken, at which level it implied a 2.9
percent yuan appreciation from the spot. The yuan was
subsequently back to 6.628 in one-year NDFs.

"I don't see much flows and follow through and I expect
volumes to drop as the year-end end goes by," said one NDF
trader in Hong Kong.

"We can expect a slow down of activities from now on,
because while the market may hear more bad news regarding
Dubai, Premier Wen continues to fend off international pressure
for yuan appreciation. The momentum is not good enough either
way," said a second trader.
Change on the day at 0727 GMT
Currency Latest bid Previous day Pct Move
Japan yen 86.91 86.34 -0.66
Sing dlr 1.3822 1.3840 +0.13
Taiwan dlr 32.166 32.185 +0.06
Korean won 1159.15 1162.80 +0.31
Baht 33.16 33.23 +0.21
Peso 46.90 47.21 +0.65
Rupiah 9450.00 9445.00 -0.05
Rupee 46.43 46.51 +0.17
Ringgit 3.3885 3.3930 +0.13
Yuan 6.8264 6.8271 +0.01
Change so far in 2009
Currency Latest bid End prev year Pct Move
Japan yen 86.91 90.60 +4.25
Sing dlr 1.3822 1.4340 +3.75
Taiwan dlr 32.166 32.860 +2.16
Korean won 1159.15 1259.50 +8.66
Baht 33.16 34.80 +4.95
Peso 46.90 47.52 +1.32
Rupiah 9450.00 11000.00 +16.40
Rupee 46.43 48.71 +4.91
Ringgit 3.3885 3.4500 +1.81
Yuan 6.8264 6.8230 -0.05
(Reporting by Vidya Ranganathan, Clare Jim in Hong Kong,
Vithoon Amorn in Bangkok; Editing by Editing by Neil Fullick)
((vidya.ranganathan@thomsonreuters.com; +65-68703090; Reuters
Messaging: vidya.ranganathan.reuters.com@reuters.net))
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Double click on brackets for following items:

Asian currencies AFX= Asian currencies in Asia
AFX=A

Malaysian ringgit MYRX= Indonesian rupiah IDRX=

Singapore dollar SGDX= Thai baht THBX=

Taiwan dollar TWDX= Hong Kong dollar HKDX=

Philippine peso PHP= Korean won KRW=

SPEED GUIDES MONEY

Exotic currencies <EXOTIC/1> Non-G7 currencies <CCY/1>

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