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Thursday May 15, 5:28 PM Emerging FX-Asia mostly up on rising stocks, mood cautious SINGAPORE, May 15 (Reuters) - Most Asian currencies rose on Thursday, tracking gains in stocks after benign U.S. inflation data, but investors remained wary about the near-term outlook after a recent sell-off spurred by the dollar's broad strength. The Philippine peso briefly rose to 42.70 per dollar, up almost 0.4 percent from Wednesday's close, while the Thai baht also gained 0.4 percent to 32.34 per dollar. The firmer tone for the currencies reflected a modest upward correction after the peso had slipped on Wednesday to a 5-1/2-month low and the baht had dropped to a three-month low. "The day started with profit taking from offshore players -- selling the dollar/baht after the market turned into long positions (on the dollar)," said a trader in Bangkok. But the trader warned that the baht's near-term upside could be capped by rising demand for dollars from oil companies. MSCI's index of Asian shares outside Japan rose about 1 percent, following a rise in U.S. stocks on Wednesday after data showed U.S. consumer prices rose a smaller-than-expected 0.2 percent in April. The data suggested that the Federal Reserve might have more latitude to keep interest rates at 2 percent. [ID:nN14432716] Oil prices fell below $124 per barrel on Wednesday from a record high of nearly $127 hit earlier this week after U.S. inventory data showed a build-up in distillate stocks and as concerns over Iranian supplies eased after the country said it had no plans to cut exports. Traders said some Asian currencies received a leg up from the dollar's dip against the euro after data showed German GDP grew a quarter-on-quarter 1.5 percent in the first three months, well above expectations. The Malaysian ringgit inched up to 3.2560 per dollar after falling as low as 3.2763 in early trade, its weakest level since late January. But it subsequently fell to 3.277 after Standard & Poor's lowered the outlook on Malaysia's ratings to stable from positive. The ringgit has lost nearly 4 percent since May 6, due to the dollar's broad strength and political risks in Malaysia, where the ruling coalition suffered a setback in March elections. "In general, dollar/Asia may be quite rangy in the very near term," said Enrico Tanuwidjaja, currency strategist at OCBC Bank. TIME TO BUY SINGAPORE DOLLAR The Singapore dollar rose as far as 1.3786 to the U.S. dollar. The currency has lost about 2 percent since it hit a record high at 1.3468 on April 23. Analysts at SEB suggested time was ripe for investors to buy the Singapore dollar, which was expected to resume its gains as the government tries to quell inflation. "We have increased our short U.S. dollar/Singapore dollar position as we believe that recent move is a temporary reaction and the rationale for being long in the Singapore dollar remains the same," they said in a note. The South Korean won fell to 1,052 per dollar, down 0.5 percent from late Asian trade on Wednesday, reflecting concerns about the economy's vulnerability to rising oil and food prices. Rrecent dips in the Chinese yuan in offshore forwards market have created an opportunity for investors to buy the yuan against the dollar, JPMorgan analysts said in a note. The spot yuan gained a tenth of a percent to 6.9929 per dollar. Analysts expect the yuan to rise further this year as the Chinese authorities try to rein in inflation. CURRENCIES VS U.S. DOLLAR Change on the day at 0833 GMT Currency Latest bid Previous day Pct Move Japan yen 104.81 105.02 +0.20 Sing dlr 1.3782 1.3822 +0.29 Taiwan dlr 30.870 31.002 +0.43 Korean won 1044.50 1047.10 +0.25 Baht 32.38 32.46 +0.25 Peso 42.73 42.86 +0.29 Rupiah 9297.00 9292.00 -0.05 Rupee 42.42 42.44 +0.05 Ringgit 3.2560 3.2600 +0.12 Yuan 6.9946 7.0030 +0.12 Change so far in 2008 Currency Latest bid End prev year Pct Move Japan yen 104.81 111.33 +6.22 Sing dlr 1.3782 1.4382 +4.35 Taiwan dlr 30.870 32.443 +5.10 Korean won 1044.50 935.70 -10.42 Baht 32.38 33.68 +4.01 Peso 42.73 41.28 -3.39 Rupiah 9297.00 9390.00 +1.00 Rupee 42.42 39.41 -7.10 Ringgit 3.2560 3.3050 +1.50 Yuan 6.9946 7.3041 +4.42 (Editing by Tomasz Janowski)