*

Inflation in South Korea eases in June

*

Singapore stocks at an 11-month high

*

CPI data from the Philippines, Thailand, Taiwan in focus

By Roshan Thomas

July 2 (Reuters) - Most Asian currencies depreciated on

Tuesday, with the Philippine peso and South Korean won leading

losses amid a firmer dollar, while stocks struggled for

direction as investors remained cautious ahead of regional

inflation prints.

The Thai baht, the Philippine peso and the

Indonesian rupiah slipped 0.3% each.

The dollar index was trading higher at 105.9 amid

heightened bets of Donald Trump winning the U.S. presidency.

The South Korean won weakened 0.3% while stocks

in Seoul were set to snap a two-day winning streak with

a 0.8% drop, as a rise in U.S. Treasury yields weighed on

sentiment.

South Korea's consumer inflation weakened to an 11-month low

in June as supply-side pressures eased, an official data showed

on Tuesday.

The report came in after data on Monday showed inflation in

Indonesia had eased more than expected for June.

"It is clear that inflation has moderated gradually over the

past three months, as headline inflation has fallen from a

recent high of 3.1% in February," analysts at ING said in a

client note.

"As a result, we believe that the Bank of Korea will shift

its communication tone from hawkish to neutral from its July

meeting," they said.

Among other regional markets, Taipei stocks lost

0.7% on the back of falling U.S. chipmakers. Shares of chipmaker

giant Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing ( TSM ) dropped 0.5%.

Stocks in Bangkok slumped 0.8%, while those in India

advanced 0.4%.

Singapore stocks gained as much as 0.6% to touch

their highest levels in 11 months.

Investors now await inflation readings from Thailand, Taiwan

and the Philippines this week to get a clearer picture of the

regional price pressure.

Traders will also look for cues on rate cuts when U.S.

Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell speaks at an event later in

the day.

The U.S. Fed could afford to wait for a couple more

inflation and jobs reports before considering a rate cut, said

Lloyd Chan, senior currency analyst at MUFG Bank.

"So for now, with the Fed not going to do anything on the

policy rate, Asian central banks will have to wait out for the

time-being."

HIGHLIGHTS:

** Indonesian 10-year benchmark yields fall to 0.3%

** Japan will remain vigilant to forex moves, finance

minister says

** European Central Bank not in a hurry to cut rates

further, Lagarde says

Asia stock indexes and

currencies at 0359 GMT

COUNTRY FX RIC FX FX YTD INDEX STOCKS STOCK

DAILY % DAILY S YTD

% % %

Japan -0.14 -12.75 0.46 18.97

China India -0.13 -0.41 0.36 11.49

Indones -0.31 -5.96 0.04 -1.73

ia

Malaysi -0.15 -2.69 0.13 10.01

a

Philipp -0.34 -5.83 -0.17 -0.96

ines

S.Korea Singapo -0.02 -2.85 0.52 3.57

re

Taiwan -0.14 -5.70 -0.68 27.72

Thailan -0.26 -7.20 -0.78 -8.94

d