Despite the expansion of import and export volumes, the daily average foreign exchange trading volume in the third quarter of this year increased by a mere 0.5% from the previous quarter, weighed down by reduced exchange rate volatility and a decline in foreigners' domestic securities trading.
According to the "Trends of Foreign Exchange Transactions by Foreign Exchange Banks in the Third Quarter" released by the Bank of Korea today (the 30th), the daily average foreign exchange trading volume (spot and foreign exchange derivative transactions) during this period was recorded at $122.01 billion.
This marks a modest 0.5% increase compared to the previous record high of $121.44 billion in the second quarter.
The growth rate in the second quarter was 18.3%.
An official from the Bank of Korea explained, "Although import and export volumes expanded, the increase remained slight compared to the previous quarter due to reduced exchange rate volatility and a decrease in foreigners' domestic securities transactions."
According to the Korea Customs Service trade statistics, import and export volumes stood at $154.7 billion in the second quarter, but increased by $19.2 billion (12.4%) to $173.9 billion in the third quarter.
However, during the same period, foreign investment trading volume in domestic securities decreased by 10.2% from $128.5 billion to $115.4 billion.
The daily average volatility rate of the won-dollar exchange rate compared to the previous day also narrowed from 0.52% in the second quarter to 0.46% in the third quarter.
By product, the daily average spot exchange trading volume decreased by $3.37 billion (6.2%) from the previous quarter to $50.74 billion, while foreign exchange derivative transactions increased by $3.94 billion (5.9%) from the previous quarter to $71.26 billion.
By bank, the foreign exchange trading volume of domestic banks increased by $1.38 billion (2.5%) from the previous quarter to $56.89 billion, whereas the foreign exchange trading volume of foreign bank branches decreased by $810 million (1.2%) to $65.12 billion.
(Photo: Yonhap News)
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