SINGAPORE (Jan 9): The Indonesian rupiah led gains among emerging Asian currencies on Thursday as investors covered short positions in regional units, while South Korea's won rose after the central bank left rates steady.

The rupiah started the day weaker but the currency turned higher with its one-month non-deliverable forwards (NDFs) firmer against the dollar, indicating the spot's rebound.

The NDFs, however, gave up most of gains after Indonesia's central bank kept its policy rate unchanged at 7.50 percent as growth slows and price pressures moderate.

Between June and November, Bank Indonesia lifted rates a total of 175 basis points to support the rupiah.

The won turned up as some investors covered bearish bets, which they had added on expectations of a rate cut this week.

The Bank of Korea held its base rate at 2.50 percent for an eighth straight month in a unanimous vote,standing back to monitor the global effects of the Federal Reserve's tapering and a weaker yen.

Offshore funds and local exporters chased the South Korean currency, although importers' dollar demand limited its gains,
traders said.

The baht edged up as offshore funds' bids prompted short-covering. The Thai currency shed some of its earlier gains on continued worries about political tensions.

Malaysia's ringgit turned higher as November factory output rose more than expected.

The day's gains for Asian currencies came even as Asian shares eased and the dollar hovered near a seven-week high against a basket of currencies after payrolls processor ADP said U.S. private employers added the largest number of jobs in 13 months.

Still, emerging Asian currencies are likely to stay under pressure in the longer term as a solid U.S. recovery is expected to let the Federal Reserve keep trimming its bond-buying programme, analysts and traders said.

CURRENCIES VS U.S. DOLLAR
Change on the day at 0951 GMT

Currency    Latest bid   Previous day    Pct Move
Japan yen       105.00         104.87       -0.12
Sing dlr        1.2714         1.2737       +0.18
Taiwan dlr      30.227         30.240       +0.04
Korean won     1062.94        1064.90       +0.18
Baht             33.03          33.04       +0.03
Peso             44.68          44.70       +0.06
Rupiah        12185.00       12225.00       +0.33
Rupee            62.01          62.07       +0.10
Ringgit         3.2750         3.2760       +0.03
Yuan            6.0550         6.0512       -0.06

Change so far in 2014
Currency    Latest bid  End prev year    Pct Move
Japan yen       105.00         105.28       +0.26
Sing dlr        1.2714         1.2632       -0.64
Taiwan dlr      30.227         29.950       -0.92
Korean won     1062.94        1055.40       -0.71
Baht             33.03          32.86       -0.51
Peso             44.68          44.40       -0.63
Rupiah        12185.00       12160.00       -0.21
Rupee            62.01          61.80       -0.34
Ringgit         3.2750         3.2755       +0.02
Yuan            6.0550         6.0539       -0.02