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Korean won closes at 30-month high vs. US dollar

Posted April. 01, 2011 10:55,   

한국어

The Korean won surged to a 30-month high against the U.S. dollar Thursday by closing at 1,096.7.

In Seoul’s foreign exchange market, the won rose 7.5 points Thursday to post its highest value since 1,095.5 on Sept. 10, 2008.

The won’s value grew on the back of overseas dollar selling early in the day, but stagnated around 1,100. With foreign exchange authorities showing no signs of intervention, Korean banks began to sell dollars to further strengthen the won.

The currency strengthened as preference for the dollar as a safety asset waned due to rallying stock markets around the globe, experts said.

Lee Chul-hee, an economist at Tongyang Securities, said, “With uncertainty stemming from the latest earthquake in Japan disappearing to a certain extent, global investors are buying Korean assets that benefited from the Japan earthquake.”

Experts said the won-dollar exchange rate will fluctuate but will continue to fall gradually until the end of the year.



achim@donga.com