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Daily volatility of won against dollar reaches highest level since Covid-19 pandemic

Published: 08 Mar. 2026, 12:31

Currency traders work near a screen showing the Kospi, top left, and the foreign exchange rate between the dollar and won, top center, at the foreign exchange dealing room of the Hana Bank headquarters in central Seoul on March 6. [AP/YONHAP]

The daily volatility of the won against the dollar has risen to its highest level since the Covid-19 pandemic amid heightened tensions in the Middle East, data showed on Sunday.

The won has fluctuated sharply following the U.S.-Israeli joint attacks on Iran on Feb. 28, with the average daily fluctuation of the won against the greenback reaching 13.2 won as of Friday, according to the economic statistics system of the Bank of Korea.

The level of volatility marks the highest since March 2020, when it reached 13.8 won as the Covid-19 pandemic roiled global financial markets.

It is also higher than the 9.7 won recorded in April 2025, when U.S. President Donald Trump threatened to impose sweeping tariffs on foreign imports in what he dubbed “Liberation Day.”

The won was also among the worst-performing currencies, falling 2.81 percent against the dollar this month alone, according to Yonhap Infomax, the financial data arm of Yonhap News Agency.

The decline was steeper than that of the euro at 1.69 percent, the Australian dollar at 1.24 percent and the yen at 1.21 percent.

Market watchers attribute the heightened volatility to Korea's heavy reliance on energy imports and its export-dependent economy.

“As Korea has relatively higher dependence on energy imports and its market is more open, the won is more sensitive to related risks and is showing increased volatility,” said Park Hyung-joong, an economist at Woori Bank.

Yonhap