The foreign exchange authorities sold a net amount of foreign exchange totaling $3 billion in response to the sharp rise in the won-dollar exchange rate earlier this year.
According to the '2025 first quarter foreign exchange authorities net transactions' published by the Bank of Korea on the 30th, the authorities sold a net amount of $2.96 billion in the first quarter of this year. The net transaction amount for foreign exchange is the amount obtained by subtracting the total selling amount from the total purchasing amount.
The foreign exchange authorities sold a net amount of $1.815 billion and $5.796 billion in the first and second quarters of last year, respectively, before buying $192 million in the third quarter. However, as the exchange rate surged due to the election of Donald Trump as President of the United States and the aftermath of former President Yoon Suk-yeol's emergency martial law in the fourth quarter, they sold a net amount of $3.755 billion.
In the first quarter of this year, as the value of the won fell due to domestic and international political instability, it appears that the foreign exchange authorities continued their net selling. Based on closing prices, the won-dollar exchange rate jumped from an average of 1436.78 won in December of last year to 1457.92 won in March of this year.
As the foreign exchange authorities defended the exchange rate, foreign exchange reserves also decreased. In March, the foreign exchange reserves were recorded at $409.66 billion, remaining below $410 billion for two consecutive months. Last month, the foreign exchange reserves fell to $404.6 billion, the lowest in five years.