* Crude rises $1 on Gustav threat to Gulf of Mexico
* U.S. dollar set for biggest monthly rise since Jan. 1997
* Japan's Nikkei jumps 2 pct after solid U.S. GDP revision
By Kevin Plumberg
HONG KONG, Aug 29 (Reuters) - Asia stocks rallied on
Friday, led by industrial companies and exporters, after a big
upward revision to second quarter U.S. economic growth boosted
the outlook for demand, but shares were down for a fourth
month.
The U.S. dollar slipped as oil prices climbed $1 as
Tropical Storm Gustav with hurricane-force winds headed to the
Gulf of Mexico, home to a quarter of U.S. crude production.
Crude tumbled more than $2 overnight after the U.S. government
promised to tap emergency stockpiles if needed.
Data overnight underscored the extent to which the U.S.
economy -- the origin of the credit crisis plaguing the global
financial system -- has outperformed Europe and Japan since
March. This supported the U.S. dollar in August, setting it on
track for its largest monthly rise against the euro since
January 1997.
"After their latest sharp losses, shares are set for a
modest rebound today, helped especially by rallies in U.S.
shares and strong U.S. economic data," said Kim Seong-bong, a
market analyst at Samsung Securities in Seoul.
"Worries about the credit crunch still exist and sentiment
remains weak, but much of the concern has probably already been
reflected in the losses we've seen this month."
Japan's Nikkei share average <> rose 2 percent, lifted
by shares of well-known overseas companies like Honda Motor Co
<7267.T> and Canon Inc <7751.T>.
Outside of Japan, stocks in the Asia-Pacific region
<.MIAPJ0000PUS> were up about 1 percent, according to an MSCI
index, which has remained in a very narrow trading range for
the last two weeks because of a summer lull in trading volume.
The index was down about 6.4 percent in August, having
risen for only two out of the last 10 months.
South Korea's KOSPI index <> rose 0.4 percent, with
shares of the world's fourth-largest steelmaker POSCO
<005490.KS> providing the biggest boost.
Hong Kong's Hang Seng index <> climbed about 2 percent,
but was still struggling to move up from a 1-year low hit last
week.
The euro <EUR=> edged 0.2 percent higher against the U.S.
dollar at $1.4732.
Although the 15-nation currency has rebounded from a
six-month low of $1.4570 hit on Tuesday, it has suffered a
steep 5.7 percent decline in August after a series of weak
economic data changed expectations for a European Central Bank
interest rate rise this year.
"Even though inflation and inflation expectations have
lessened across the G10 economies, the impetus is on the euro
zone and other economies to seek more accommodative policy up
ahead due to relative economic weakness," said Benedikt
Germanier, currency strategist with UBS in Stamford,
Connecticut.
The dollar slipped 0.3 percent against the yen <JPY=> at
109.13 yen, down from a 7-month high around 110.66 yen set two
weeks ago.
October U.S. light crude futures rose $1 to $116.62 a
barrel <CLc1>, butting up against a trendline that extended
down from oil's all-time high of $147.27 a barrel hit on July
11.
Tropical Storm Gustav has killed 60 people in the Caribbean
and was on a path to reach New Orleans and the Gulf of Mexico
oil fields as possibly the most powerful blow since the 2005
hurricane season.
Gold prices, which have traded in lock-step with crude for
the last several weeks, rose 0.25 percent in the spot market
<XAU=> to around $835.30 an ounce, continuing to recover from a
2008 low of $773.90.
(Additional reporting by Park Jung-youn in SEOUL; Editing by
Dhara Ranasinghe)
