Exchange Rate Closes Just Shy of 1,555 Won... Hits Highest Level Since Financial Crisis Again (Updated)

Closed the Week at 1,554.9 Won, Up 5.5 Won
Highest Level Since March 5, 2009 (1,568 Won)

The KRW-USD exchange rate ended the week’s trading session just shy of 1,555 won. The KRW-USD rate closely tracked the yen, which has fallen to its lowest level in 40 years, and at one point during the session threatened to breach the 1,560 mark.

On the 30th of last month, an employee is monitoring KOSDAQ and other indices in the dealing room at the Hana Bank headquarters in Jung-gu, Seoul.

On July 1 in the Seoul foreign exchange market, the KRW-USD exchange rate closed at 1,554.9 won as of 3:30 p.m., up 5.5 won from the previous trading day. This is the highest level since March 5, 2009 (1,568 won), during the global financial crisis. The previous day, the rate had finished weekly trading at 1,549.4 won, the highest since March 6, 2009 (1,550 won). By surpassing 1,550 won, the exchange rate set a new record within just one day.

The session opened at 1,549.8 won, up 0.4 won, and after a brief decline immediately after the opening, the rate reversed and climbed above 1,550 won. It then surged further, threatening to reach 1,560 won. At around 10:18 a.m., it rose to 1,559.2 won. Due to caution over potential fine-tuning by authorities and dollar selling by exporters perceiving a peak, the rate briefly fell below 1,550 won in the afternoon. However, it rebounded sharply just before the week’s trading closed.

The continued strength of the U.S. dollar, driven by expectations of U.S. policy rate hikes, as well as the yen’s depreciation to a 40-year low, have been fueling the weakness of the Korean won. As of 3:30 p.m., the JPY-USD exchange rate was trading above 162 yen at 162.701 yen. At around 12:36 p.m., it climbed to 162.837 yen, nearly reaching 163 yen. Despite verbal intervention by Japanese foreign exchange authorities, the yen’s decline has persisted. The dollar index, which measures the value of the dollar against the currencies of six major countries, is also remaining high in the 101 range, currently at 101.325.

The ongoing net selling by foreign investors in the domestic stock market for nine consecutive trading days has also added to the pressure. On this day, foreign investors posted a net sell of 1.7 trillion won in the Korea Exchange.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.