Domestic ETFs ranked 1st to 3rd in growth rate in the third quarter of this year, all ‘Gobbus’ products betting twice on dollar decline

(Seoul = Yonhap News) Reporter Go Eun-ji = In the third quarter of this year, the 1st to 3rd stocks in Korea's listed exchange-traded funds (ETFs) in terms of growth rate were all US dollar 'gobbus' products that doubled their bets on the decline of the US dollar.

According to the Korea Exchange on the 4th, the product with the highest increase among exchange traded funds (ETFs) listed in Korea from June 1 to September 30 was 'KODEX US Dollar Futures Inverse 2X' (22.76%).

Next, 'TIGER US Dollar Futures Inverse 2X' and 'KIWOOM US Dollar Futures Inverse 2X' recorded 22.49% and 22.39%, respectively, taking second and third place by a narrow margin.

All three products are ETFs that track the daily change rate of the US dollar futures index traded on the Korea Exchange at a multiple of -2. In other words, it is a multiplication product that doubles the bet on the dollar falling.

It is interpreted that products betting on a weak dollar made high profits during the decline in the won/dollar exchange rate in the third quarter.

The US dollar futures index fell 9.91% from 1,685.61 on June 1 to 1,518.50 on September 30.

During the same period, the won/dollar exchange rate fell from 1,504.3 won to 1,352.8 won based on the closing price of weekly trading in the Seoul foreign exchange market (3:30 p.m.).

On the 9th, it closed at 1,336.10 won, falling to the lowest since October 4, 2024 based on regular trading in Seoul.

However, since the middle of last month, the dollar has been on the rise again due to a combination of factors such as high oil prices, rising U.S. Treasury yields, and the Bank of Japan (BOJ) base interest rate hike. The won/dollar exchange rate rose to 1,383.3 won on the 18th.

Accordingly, KODEX US Dollar Futures Inverse 2X rose to 5,705 won on the 9th and then fell overall to 5,575 won on the 2nd.

Experts predict that the won-dollar exchange rate will show an upward trend for the time being.

A foreign exchange expert said, “The upward pressure on the won/dollar exchange rate appears to be dominant due to the strong global dollar and continued net selling by foreigners in the domestic stock market,” and added, “With the deadlock in U.S.-Iran negotiations and geopolitical risks stimulating risk aversion, upward pressure may increase if foreigners expand stock selling.”

Jeong Yong-taek, a researcher at IBK Investment & Securities, predicted, “The factors that make the Korean won strong and those that weaken it are competing with each other with clear persuasiveness, but as the weight gradually shifts to the weak factors, mainly external instability factors, the exchange rate will trend upward again.”