Daily foreign exchange trading by banks in Korea hit an all-time high in the first quarter, driven by increased cross-border trading of stocks and bonds and hedging, central bank data showed Wednesday.
The won closed above the psychological threshold of 1,500 against the dollar on Thursday, marking the first time it has done so since the global financial crisis 17 years ago.
The escalating Middle East conflict is driving the dollar-won exchange rate toward historic levels, breaching the key 1,500 threshold three times over the past two weeks, giving rise to concerns about a new norm as long as the turmoil persists.
Hana Card's travel debit card will now support eight additional currencies, allowing users to exchange Korean won and make transactions abroad.
Korea's central bank continued to waffle on the issue of whether a currency swap with the United States is being pursued, even as the won collapsed and the financial markets in general were in turmoil.
Current economic conditions are "severe," the presidential office said Tuesday, as the Finance Ministry warned speculators not to pile into the won trade, with the currency now at levels not seen in more than 13 years.
The Japanese yen plunged against the dollar to trade at the 120 yen to dollar level, the lowest since February 2016, from about 114 to 115 yen at the end of February.
In the past, the won and yuan moved mostly in the same direction — when the yuan went up, so did the won. Recently, however, the link between the two currencies seemed to be losing force.
Companies are growing anxious about rising costs on all fronts: materials, interest rates and foreign exchange to boot.
Korea JoongAng Daily Sitemap
