EM ASIA FX-Asian currencies steady ahead of U.S. jobs data, won shines

* Won rises on dollar-selling by local exporters

* Yuan supported by worry over c.bank intervention

* Asian currencies mostly steady to firmer

* U.S. data in focus for hints on Fed rate hike prospects

SINGAPORE, Aug 31 (Reuters) - Most Asian currencies were

steady to firmer against the dollar on Wednesday, with the South

Korean won outperforming due to month-end flows from local

exporters.

The Chinese yuan held firm, with investors cautious about

possible central bank intervention whenever the currency neared

the psychologically-important 6.7 per dollar level.

After holding firm in the first half of August on the back

of inflows from yield-seeking investors, most Asian currencies

faltered in the second half as upbeat comments from Fed

policymakers rekindled bets for a rise in U.S. interest rates

and bolstered the greenback.

The focus now is on whether U.S. economic indicators coming

up this week, such as nonfarm payrolls data on Friday, will add

to expectations that the Fed could raise interest rates as early

as September, or cause such bets to be pared back.

SOUTH KOREAN WON

The South Korean won ended higher on Wednesday as

month-end dollar sales by exporters supported the currency

towards the close of the session.

SINGAPORE DOLLAR, INDONESIAN RUPIAH

The Singapore dollar has underperformed compared

with regional peers in August with a monthly loss of 1.8 percent

against the U.S. dollar.

Another underperformer was the Indonesian rupiah,

which is down 1.4 percent against the U.S. dollar in August.

The potential for further monetary easing in Singapore and

Indonesia in coming months, may have weighed on the Singapore

dollar and the rupiah in August, said Masashi Murata, currency

strategist for Brown Brothers Harriman in Tokyo.

"There has been speculation that there could be additional

monetary easing in Indonesia, although such views might recede

if the rupiah were to fall further," he said.

"For Singapore...there is a view that there might be some

type of easing bias at the October meeting amid the weakness in

the manufacturing sector," Murata said, referring to the central

bank's semiannual policy decision.

Data released last week showed that Singapore's factory

output in July unexpectedly contracted from a year earlier,

heightening concerns about the outlook for the city-state's

economy.

CURRENCIES VS U.S. DOLLAR

Change on the day at 0737 GMT

Currency Latest bid Previous Pct

day Move

Japan yen 103.27 102.97 -0.29

Sing dlr 1.3635 1.3647 +0.09

Taiwan dlr 31.717 31.720 +0.01

Korean won 1115.57 1119.90 +0.39

Baht 34.63 34.60 -0.11

Peso 46.580 46.470 -0.24

Rupiah 13275 13275 +0.00

Rupee 67.01 67.04 +0.04

Ringgit 4.0480 4.0480 +0.00

Yuan 6.6794 6.6820 +0.04

Change so far

in 2016

Currency Latest bid End prev Pct

year Move

Japan yen 103.27 120.30 +16.49

Sing dlr 1.3635 1.4177 +3.98

Taiwan dlr 31.717 33.066 +4.25

Korean won 1115.57 1172.50 +5.10

Baht 34.63 36.00 +3.94

Peso 46.58 47.06 +1.03

Rupiah 13275 13785 +3.84

Rupee 67.01 66.15 -1.28

Ringgit 4.0480 4.2935 +6.06

Yuan 6.6794 6.4936 -2.78

(Reporting by Masayuki Kitano; Additional reporting by Yena

Park and Dahee Kim in SEOUL, Lu Jianxin and Nathaniel Taplin in

SHANGHAI; Editing by Jacqueline Wong)