Why Korean won lacks luster, despite dollar’s weak trend
Ikhwan Kim
Aug 03, 2020 (Gmt+09:00)
The South Korean won has been stuck in a range between 1,190 and 1,210 to the US dollar in the past two months, down 3% since the start of the year, despite the dollar’s overall weakness against major currencies such as the euro, yen and pound.
A plunge in exports, foreign investors’ selling in Seoul stock markets and growing appetite for safe assets were behind the rangebound movement in the dollar/won rate, coupled with coronavirus-triggered economic uncertainties.
The won ended at 1,193.4 per dollar on August 3, compared with the July 31 closing of 1,191.0. It has hardly broken below the 1,180 barrier for several months, based on the closing rate.