Foreign Investors Continue Selling Amid Middle East Tensions; Won-Dollar Exchange Rate Rises 12 Won to 1,520 Range

The won-dollar exchange rate rose by more than 10 won today (the 10th) as risk appetite weakened due to escalating tensions in the Middle East and foreign investors continued their net selling of stocks.

In the Seoul foreign exchange market today, the closing price for daytime trading of the won against the U.S. dollar was 1,524.2 won, up 12.1 won from the previous trading day.

The exchange rate, which had fallen to the 1,510-won range after declining for two consecutive days on the 8th and 9th, rebounded in three days to climb back into the 1,520-won range.

This marks the 17th consecutive trading day that the closing price has remained in the 1,500-won range.

The exchange rate opened at 1,525 won, up 12.9 won, and touched a low of 1,514.1 won at 9:19 a.m., but it gradually rose and hovered in the low-to-mid 1,520-won range for the remainder of the session.

The exchange rate faced upward pressure today as risk appetite was dampened by the expansion of geopolitical risks.

Middle East instability has intensified again as the United States and Iran engaged in a cycle of retaliation following the crash of a U.S. military Apache helicopter in the Strait of Hormuz.

Consequently, the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index in the New York market plummeted by more than 8% at one point during the previous night's session.

The streak of net selling by foreign investors also pushed the exchange rate higher.

In the domestic KOSPI market today, foreign investors net sold 2.7717 trillion won worth of stocks, marking their 23rd consecutive trading day of selling.

However, it appears that the exchange rate was prevented from rising further due to continued vigilance regarding potential intervention by foreign exchange authorities.

The Ministry of Economy and Finance stated at a meeting with foreign exchange market experts the previous day that relevant agencies plan to conduct on-site inspections soon to determine if there were any speculative trades or market-disturbing activities.

The Bank of Korea and the Financial Supervisory Service decided to begin joint inspections of major foreign exchange banks starting today.

The Financial Supervisory Service also convened the insurance sector to urge restraint on new overseas investments and the expansion of speculative foreign currency positions, signaling its commitment to managing the exchange rate.

The dollar index, which measures the value of the dollar against six major currencies, stood at 99.865 as of 3:30 p.m., up 0.002 from the reference price at the same time the previous day.

(Photo: Yonhap News)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.