* Inflows into bond funds remain strong
* Euro dips on hedge fund selling, Greek troubles weigh
* Korean won leads losses in Asia
* Emerging market assets have posted solid gains - BarCap
By Saikat Chatterjee
HONG KONG, May 13 (Reuters) - Asian equities are poised for their second consecutive week of losses as volatile commodities kept bargain-hungry investors on the backfoot while the euro's weakness may snowball before a meeting next week.
Copper, corn and the broader Reuters/Jefferies CRB index -- a broad measure of commodity performance -- posted small gains while U.S. crude prices fell more than a dollar, sliding further below $100 a barrel on concerns over global oil demand as U.S. drivers face rising pump prices.
"The market has become increasingly more cautious and investors are increasingly more uncertain about growth ex (excluding) the resources sector," said Shaw Stockbroking senior dealer Jamie Spiteri.
Japan's Nikkei was down 0.2 percent after opening slightly higher with the yen's strength holding back equity gains while Australia's index also turned lower after beginning higher.
MSCI's index of Asia Pacific shares outside Japan was down 0.1 percent. For the week it is set to fall nearly a percent.
Notwithstanding the high volatility in commodities and the troubles in the euro zone, emerging market assets have performed solidly of late, though further gains may be hard fought from these levels, Barclays Capital strategists said in a note.
Overnight, China Resources priced a $750 million bond, bringing the year to date, hard currency, primary market offerings from Asia ex-Japan to $42.3 billion.
The weekly average so far this year is $2.2 billion, compared with 2010's $1.6 billion.
Inflows into emerging markets bond funds remain strong, with a rise of 40 percent in the week to May 11, a report from ING said. Hard currency bonds received $161 million of new investment while high yield bond funds received $491 million.
DOLLAR UP
On a weekly basis, the dollar index , which measures the dollar's value against a basket of currencies, is set to rise for the second consecutive week, the first time this year.
The euro dipped 0.4 percent on hedge fund selling before recovering slightly to 1.4205, within sight of a six-week low hit overnight, with lingering fears about Greece's debt problems acting like a weight around the euro's neck.
Nevertheless, the European Central Bank's April interest rate rise was "certainly not" a one-off move as inflation risks in the euro zone have increased and price pressures are building, ECB policymaker Luc Coene said. [ID:nLDE74B0PZ]
Doubts over whether a substantial agreement on Greece would emerge from meetings of euro zone finance ministers next week have pushed the euro down by nearly five percent from an early May high. [ID:nLDE66D1JB]
The Korean won led losses in Asia after Seoul's surprising decision to hold interest rates triggered a fresh round of dollar buying. Traders were hesitant to take big bets before the weekend after two precipitous routs in the commodity markets in the past week and China's latest round of policy tightening. [ID:nL3E7GC0BB]
After market hours on Thursday, China lifted bank reserve requirement ratios by 50 basis points, its eighth increase since last October, forcing main Chinese banks to withhold more money from the economy in a bid to cool inflation pressures.[ID:nL3E7GC2W4]
A late rally in equities dealt another blow to safe-haven assets such as U.S. government bonds, which were already hurt by a lackluster 30-year Treasury bond auction.
Benchmark 10-year Treasury notes eased slightly, though yields held near 3.22 percent compared to 3.16 percent on Wednesday and 3.13 percent last week.
U.S. crude for June delivery was down more than a dollar to
$97.92 a barrel
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http://blogs.reuters.com/hedgehub (Additional reporting by Umesh Desai, Masayuki Kitano in TOKYO andIan Chua in SYDNEY and Victoria Thieberger in MELBOURNE; Editing by Richard Borsuk)