* Hungary June inflation slows more; still above 20%

* Polish cbank's sees CPI little changed, holds rates

* Romania Q1 final GDP 2.4% Y/Y, below prelim estimate

* EM stocks shed 0.7%, FX down 0.2%

July 7 (Reuters) - Emerging market stocks hit a one-month low on Friday as bets of a higher U.S. rate regime lasting for longer stifled risk appetite, while Hungary's forint dwindled ahead of an S&P debt rating review and on expectations of continued rate cuts.

With the heavily-weighted Hong Kong's Hang Seng index losing 0.9% amid a wait for substantial economic support and cues on Sino-U.S. relations, the MSCI index of emerging market (EM) stocks shed 0.7% and was on track for a third straight weekly decline.

Traders monitored developments around U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen's visit to China, where she criticised the world's No. 2 economy on Friday for its recent "punitive" actions against U.S. companies and new export controls on some critical minerals.

After resilient U.S. jobs data aggravated bets that the Federal Reserve has more ground to cover in monetary policy tightening, the focus has shifted to the more comprehensive U.S. non-farms payroll data during the day.

The MSCI index for EM currencies slipped 0.2%, and was on track for its steepest three-week percentage drop since late February.

The Hungarian forint lost 0.5% against the euro on expectations of continued gradual rate cuts sparked by a slowdown in headline and core inflation in June.

Traders awaited a scheduled review of the country's debt rating by S&P later in the day, with mounting risks over the 2023 budget and a threat to consumption-linked tax revenues also pressuring the forint.

"After experiencing one of the most severe inflation shocks globally in 2022 and sinking into recession, Hungary's economy now seems to be turning a corner," said Gareth Leather, senior emerging markets economist at Capital Economics.

"We still think that rates will need to stay firm for longer than most expect and that expectations for a strong recovery in activity are overdone."

Hungary's central bank began easing monetary policy in May by reducing its one-day deposit rate to 16% in June. Its base rate of 13% still remains the highest in the EU.

Traders will monitor a press conference from Poland's central bank after it left its interest rate on hold on Thursday and reinforced expectations of rate cuts after summer, a day after the Romanian central bank kept interest rate unchanged.

The polish zloty was unchanged following a 0.4% fall the previous day.

Given the zloty's high-beta relationship to the euro, Commerzbank analysts see the former rising towards 4.75 as inflation disappoints once again in 2024.

Meanwhile, data showed Romania's economy grew 2.4% year-on-year in the first quarter, revising a preliminary estimate, while domestic consumption grew 6.9%. The leu was marginally down.

Further, Czech Republic's industrial output rose by a higher-than-expected 1.4% year-on-year in May. The crown was flat.

Russia's rouble bounced back after Thursday's slump to a more than 15-month low with the currency under pressure from domestic political concerns and strong FX demand.

Elsewhere, Sri Lankan shares continued their upward movement, up 1% on Friday, following the island nation's rate cut for the second month the prior day.

For GRAPHIC on emerging market FX performance in 2023, see http://tmsnrt.rs/2egbfVh For GRAPHIC on MSCI emerging index performance in 2023, see https://tmsnrt.rs/2OusNdX

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For RUSSIAN market report, see (Reporting by Ankika Biswas in Bengaluru; Editing by Janane Venkatraman)