S. Korea warns against won’s excessive volatility

SEOUL-- South Korea's foreign exchange authorities said Monday that they will make efforts to prevent the South Korean currency from sliding excessively against the U.S. dollar amid the won's high volatility.

The remarks are widely seen as the latest verbal intervention to curb the won's slide, though the finance ministry and the Bank of Korea did not elaborate.

The Korean currency was trading at 1,285.10 won per U.S. dollar as of 2:13 p.m., down 16.20 won from the previous session. The Korean currency has fallen some 6.3 percent against the greenback so far this year.

The won's weakness to the greenback has accelerated in recent months due to the prospect of the U.S. Federal Reserve's aggressive rate hikes and heightened external economic uncertainty.

The Fed is scheduled to hold its two-day policy meeting on Tuesday and Wednesday.

In May, U.S. consumer prices jumped 8.6 percent on-year, the fastest gain in 41 years.

Inflation woes also sent South Korea's key stock prices sharply lower. The KOSPI tumbled 84.71 points or 3.24 percent to trade at 2,511.16 points

South Korea's foreign exchange authorities unloaded a net $6.89 billion in the fourth quarter of last year to ease volatility in the foreign exchange market.

The Bank of Korea and the finance ministry have disclosed quarterly figures on net selling or buying of dollars in the foreign exchange market since the third quarter of 2019.

Source: Yonhap News Agency

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