Rate climbs to 1,549.25 won during morning trading

A Hana Bank employee monitors financial indicators at the bank's dealing room in Jung-gu, Seoul, on Friday, as the Kospi plunged at the open, triggering a sell-side sidecar, while the won-dollar rate surged past the 1,540-won level. Photo by Lim Se-jun
A Hana Bank employee monitors financial indicators at the bank's dealing room in Jung-gu, Seoul, on Friday, as the Kospi plunged at the open, triggering a sell-side sidecar, while the won-dollar rate surged past the 1,540-won level. Photo by Lim Se-jun

The won-dollar rate climbed close to 1,550 won Friday morning, reaching its highest level since the global financial crisis.

The rate stood at 1,549.25 won as of 10:28 a.m. in the Seoul foreign exchange market Friday — the highest intraday level since March 10, 2009, when it hit 1,561.0 won during the financial crisis.

The won opened at 1,529.0 won, down 0.7 won from Thursday's daytime closing price at 3:30 p.m., before reversing course and swinging more than 10 won within an hour.

Middle East risks and net selling of domestic shares by foreign investors are adding upward pressure on the rate. Fading hopes for a peace agreement between the United States and Iran have fueled market concerns that negotiations could drag on or that a truce may be in jeopardy.

Ongoing armed conflict between Israel and Lebanon is adding to uncertainty over the situation in the Middle East.

Foreign investors net sold more than 1.7 trillion won (approximately $1.1 billion) on the domestic stock market Friday morning, extending their selling streak to 20 consecutive trading sessions. The Kospi was down more than 4 percent.

The dollar index, which measures the greenback against six major currencies, edged down 0.007 from the previous day to 99.434 but remains elevated.


forest@heraldcorp.com