* Indonesian rupiah hits lowest since April 2020
* Philippine c.bank decision due next week
* Philippine stocks hit six-month low

By Rajasik  Mukherjee
       June 21 (Reuters) - Asian currencies were subdued
against the U.S. dollar on Friday, with the Indonesian rupiah
touching a fresh four-year low, as the Federal Reserve's patient
stance towards interest rates adds pressure as yield
differentials widen.
    The Indonesian rupiah slipped 0.3% to 16,475.00, the
lowest since early April 2020, a day after Bank Indonesia (BI)
kept its interest rate unchanged but said it will fine-tune
other tools to stabilise the weakening currency.
    The rupiah has lost more than 6% so far this year, and is
among the worst performing currencies in the region.
    "Looking ahead, BI will intervene actively in the FX market,
optimise monetary instruments, and maintain strong yields to
attract capital inflows," Karinska Priyatno, a fixed income
analyst at Mirae Asset Securities wrote. 
    "With corporate USD demand peaking in the second quarter and
subsiding in third quarter, rupiah pressure is expected to ease
in the near future."
    Meanwhile, most other Asian currencies have declined sharply
so far this year. The Philippine peso, Thai baht, and
Taiwan dollar have each lost more than 5%, while the
Malaysian ringgit and Singapore dollar are down
over 2%.
    "Widening yield differentials between U.S. and Asia is one
of the major drivers for Asian FX volatility and weakness. If
this persists, we may continue to see further weakness for most
Asian FX," Christopher Wong, an FX strategist at OCBC, said.
    In the Philippines, the peso appreciated slightly on Friday
while equities declined 1.6% - the lowest since
mid-December - ahead of the central bank's monetary policy
meeting next week.
    "Dovish BSP (Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas) guidance and
divergence with U.S. and some of the monetary policies in the
region makes PHP more vulnerable among Asian currencies
excluding Japan," Wong said.
    "For the next meeting, our house view still looks for BSP to
stay on hold."
    Elsewhere in the region, the South Korean won was
down 0.3% while equities in Seoul lost 0.8%, breaking a
three-day rally.
    South Korea's foreign exchange authorities said they agreed
with the National Pension Service to expand a currency swap line
to $50 billion from the current $35 billion to defend the
tumbling won against the dollar.
    The won has fallen more than 7% against the dollar so far
this year.
    Shares in Taipei lost 0.6% for the day, but were on
track for their best week since early March. The Taiwan dollar
 was largely unchanged.
    
    HIGHLIGHTS:    
    ** Indonesian 10-year benchmark yields rise to 7.152%
    ** Thai PM says he expects to announce more stimulus
measures early next week
    ** Japan's demand-led inflation slows, clouds BOJ rate hike
path

  Asia stock indexes and                             
 currencies at 0407 GMT                         
 COUNTRY  FX RIC        FX     FX  INDE  STOCK  STOCK
                     DAILY  YTD %     X      S  S YTD
                         %               DAILY      %
                                             %  
 Japan               +0.01  -11.2  <.N2  -0.23  +15.2
                                2  25>     %    
 China                           EC>          
 India               +0.08  -0.45  <.NS   0.18   8.64
                                   EI>          
 Indones             -0.12  -6.38  <.JK   1.66  -4.68
 ia                                SE>          
 Malaysi             -0.11  -2.61  <.KL   0.12   9.63
 a                                 SE>          
 Philipp             +0.12  -5.82  <.PS  -1.43  -3.04
 ines                              I>           
 S.Korea                         11>          
 Singapo             +0.09  -2.51  <.ST   0.25   2.09
 re                                I>           
 Taiwan              -0.04  -4.97  <.TW  -0.62  29.72
                                   II>          
 Thailan             +0.08  -6.91  <.SE   0.26  -8.06
 d                                 TI>          
 

    
 (Reporting by Rajasik Mukherjee in Bengaluru; Editing by
Jacqueline Wong)