The won/dollar exchange rate soared by more than 10 won... Closed at 1,529.7 won

The won/dollar exchange rate soared by more than 10 won on the 4th due to the uncertainty of the situation in the Middle East and the selling of domestic stocks by foreign investors.

On this day, the weekly trading closing price of the Korean won to U.S. dollar exchange rate in the Seoul foreign exchange market (as of 3:30 p.m.) was recorded at 1,529.7 won, up 13.3 won from the previous trading day.

Based on the closing price of weekly trading, it is the highest level in over two months since March 31 of this year (1,530.1 won).

In particular, based on the closing price, it exceeded 1,500 won on the 15th of last month (1,500.8 won) and then stayed in the 1,500 won range for 13 consecutive trading days.

This is the longest period since it was in the 1,500 won range for 49 consecutive trading days from late December 1997 to early March 1998 during the foreign exchange crisis.

The record has already been surpassed not only from March 26 to April 7 (9 trading days) this year, immediately after the outbreak of the Middle East war, but also from February 24 to March 10, 2009 (11 trading days) during the financial crisis.

The exchange rate also showed a steep rise in the night trading that followed the close of daytime trading on this day, soaring to 1,538.0 won at around 4:45 p.m.

It is the highest level since March 10, 2009 (intraday price 1,561.0 won) during the financial crisis.

While the domestic foreign exchange market was closed due to the June 3 local elections the previous day, the military conflict between the United States and Iran continued, and risk aversion grew stronger.

When the Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR) announced the imposition of tariffs on Korea, the exchange rate soared in the offshore market last night.

International oil prices jumped to the high $90s per barrel.

Net selling by foreign investors also stimulated the exchange rate rise.

On this day, in the stock market, KOSPI closed at 8,369.41, down 1.84% from the previous day, and foreign investors net sold 6.9528 trillion won.

Foreigners have been selling stocks in the stock market for 19 consecutive trading days from the 7th of last month to this day.

However, the verbal intervention of the authorities immediately after opening and the release of Nego (dollar sales) volume by exporters appear to have limited further rise in the exchange rate.

Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance and Economy Koo Yun-cheol said at a market situation review meeting chaired this morning, “We will immediately take necessary measures against excessive concentration.”

It is analyzed that the news of the ceasefire agreement between Israel and Lebanon, which was delivered before the market opened, also prevented the exchange rate from rising further.

The dollar index, which represents the value of the US dollar against the currencies of six major countries, was 99.432, down 0.09% from the previous day.

The yen/dollar exchange rate is 159.860 yen, down 0.09%.

The won/yen arbitrage rate was 957.35 per 100 yen, up 8.29 won from the standard price at 3:30 p.m. on the previous trading day.