* MSCIEF down 0.4%, set to slip 0.7% in July

* Hong Kong stocks post worst month in a year

* Polish zloty rises; analysts see room for decline

July 29 (Reuters) - Emerging market stocks and currencies were on course to end the month lower, with China slowdown worries heightening on Friday after Beijing omitted previous calls that it would strive to meet its 2022 economic growth target.

Mainland China stocks were well in the red, while Hong Kong's main index dropped 2.4% to two-month lows, brining losses in July to 8% - its worst monthly fall in a year.

The broader emerging market stock index, heavily skewed towards blue-chip Chinese firms, lost 0.4% despite gains across most other bourses in Asia, emerging Europe and Africa.

After narrowly avoiding a contraction in the second quarter due to widespread COVID-19 lockdowns, China will try hard to achieve the "best possible" results for the economy this year, state media reported after a high-level meeting of the ruling Communist Party.

The meeting stopped short of addressing its previous full-year growth target of around 5.5% for the world's second-largest economy.

The day's decline added to the monthly losses for emerging market stocks, down 0.7%, as well as the currency benchmark , down 0.3%.

Risk appetite has been dampened by worries about China's COVID-19 curbs hitting growth and fears that aggressive monetary policy tightening by major central banks across the world could tip economies into recession.

Adding to investor worries, data released on Thursday showed the U.S. economy unexpectedly contracted in the second quarter.

But this was interpreted as one more reason for the U.S. Federal Reserve to ease its foot off the tightening pedal, and drove the dollar to six-week lows, giving some breathing space to emerging currencies.

The Indian rupee firmed 0.4% and looked set to post its best session in nearly four months, while South Africa's rand hit a three-weak peak. Mexico's peso extended gains to sixth session.

Against a strong euro, the Polish zloty jumped 0.4% after data showed inflation growth slowed significantly in July from last month, in line with expectations.

"We think this is only temporary and we will see inflation pick up again in the coming months," FX strategists at ING said in a note.

But the July data should give the National Bank of Poland ammunition for a dovish U-turn, they said, adding: "We believe (the zloty) still has room to go lower."

Turkey's lira fell to a low of 17.978, not far off a record low of 18.3624 hit in December.

Turkey's central bank raised its annual inflation forecast to 60.4% for the year-end from 42.8% three months ago.

For GRAPHIC on emerging market FX performance in 2022, see http://tmsnrt.rs/2egbfVh For GRAPHIC on MSCI emerging index performance in 2022, see https://tmsnrt.rs/2OusNdX

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For RUSSIAN market report, see (Reporting by Susan Mathew in Bengaluru; Editing by Subhranshu Sahu)