China's central bank said on Thursday it would make another big cash injection through open market operations, after a record net liquidity injection of $83 billion a day earlier, seeking to avoid a cash crunch ahead of a long holiday period.

Earlier this week, poor Chinese trade data prompted officials to signal further supportive measures to shore up growth in the world's second largest economy.

The Chinese yuan faltered as much as 0.2 percent against the greenback.

In a move that might have added to risk-off sentiment, U.S. lawmakers introduced bipartisan bills on Wednesday that would ban the sale of U.S. chips or other components to Huawei Technologies Co Ltd [HWT.UL] and other Chinese telecom companies that violate U.S. sanctions.

Meanwhile, the Wall Street Journal reported on Wednesday that U.S. prosecutors are investigating Huawei for allegedly stealing trade secrets and could soon issue an indictment.

Among Asian currencies, the Indonesian rupiah led declines, softening as much as 0.4 percent as the market awaited a central bank rate decision expected after 0700 GMT.

On Wednesday, Bank Indonesia Governor Perry Warjiyo said he considers its benchmark interest rate to be "near its peak" but will maintain the central bank's "pre-emptive and ahead of the curve" approach.

Mizuho Bank, in a note on Thursday, said it expects a rate hold "against a backdrop of receding tail risks and corresponding macro stability vulnerabilities".

Between May and November, central bank raised rates six times. All 20 analysts in a Reuters poll expect no change on Thursday.

Also softening against the dollar on Thursday were the Korean won and the Philippine peso.

SINGAPORE DOLLAR

The Singapore dollar was modestly lower on Thursday as the city-state's exports had their biggest decline in more than two years in December.

The trade-reliant country saw a fall of 8.5 percent in non-oil domestic exports (NODX), as electronic and pharmaceutical shipments plunged.

The bleak data is in line with dismal export data from other Asian economies including China, South Korea, Taiwan, Philippines and Indonesia.

OCBC Bank said it expected Singapore's export growth to continue to disappoint this year "barring any rapid turnaround in US-China trade talks and a firm resolution to the contentious issues between US and China."

(Reporting by Niyati Shetty in Bengaluru; Editing by Richard Borsuk)

By Niyati Shetty