* Most Asian currencies fall
* Inflation in S.Korea, Philippines and Thailand higher than expected
* China services activity expanded at the slowest pace in eight months

By Archishma Iyer
       Sept 5 (Reuters) - The South Korean won and Thailand's baht led declines
among emerging Asian currencies on Tuesday, while more uninspiring data from
China pointed towards further weakening in Asia's largest economy. 
    China's services activity expanded at the slowest pace in eight months in
August, a private-sector survey showed. 
    "Only a more forceful policy package could really turn around sentiment,"
Wei Liang Chang, Macro strategist (FX and Credit) with DBS Bank said, "But they
do not want house prices to go back to elevated levels again. So, their policy
stance is still going to be more or less restrained." 
    The won eased nearly 0.5% to more than a week's low, and the baht
 slipped by a similar amount.  
    Annual inflation in South Korea accelerated to 3.4% in August while the
month-on-month rate was the fastest since early 2017. Thailand's inflation 
exceeded analysts expectations. Inflation in the Philippines also quickened for
the first time in seven months.
    "The August upside surprise now has Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas on notice
although we doubt one data point will be enough for Governor Remolona to flip
back into tightening mode," Nicholas Mapa, a senior economist with ING said in a
research note.
    "However, should inflation for these key commodities accelerate further, we
believe the governor will not hesitate to hike further to get a hold of
inflation expectations," he added. 
     The Malaysian ringgit, Indonesian rupiah and the Singapore
dollar eased between 0.1% and 0.2%.  
    Seperately, investors will also look out for a slew of speeches from U.S
Federal Reserve officials throughout the week. Markets have priced in 93% chance
of the Fed keeping rates unchanged later this month.  
        Most Asian equities were trading in the red, with stocks in Singapore
, Kuala Lumpur, Seoul and Shanghai losing between
0.1% and 0.6%. 

    HIGHLIGHTS:    
    ** Indonesia's benchmark 10-year bond yield rises to 6.414% 
    ** UPDATE 2-Thai cbank sees 2023 GDP growth, inflation lower than expected
 
    ** POLL-Malaysia central bank to hold rates at 3.0% through end-2024
 
    
 Asia stock indexes and currencies at 0355 GMT
 COUNTRY   FX RIC          FX   FX YTD    INDEX  STOCKS  STOCKS
                      DAILY %        %            DAILY   YTD %
                                                      %  
 Japan                  -0.18   -10.65           -0.088  26.10
 China                                                  
 India                  -0.08    -0.12             0.18    8.06
 Indonesi               -0.11    +2.05            -0.17    1.96
 a                                                       
 Malaysia               -0.13    -5.54            -0.47   -2.65
 Philippi               -0.26    -1.90            -0.02   -5.37
 nes                                                     
 S.Korea                                                
 Singapor               -0.19    -1.28            -0.30   -0.68
 e                                                       
 Taiwan                 -0.06    -3.74            -0.18   18.55
 Thailand               -0.42    -2.26             0.22   -6.98
 

 (Reporting by Archishma Iyer in Bengaluru; Editing by Simon Cameron-Moore)