On the 8th, the won started in the 1,470-won range against the U.S. dollar and fell more than 5 won intraday to close in the 1,460-won range. It was down 1.9 won from the prior session's weekly transaction closing price.
According to the Seoul foreign exchange market, the won-dollar rate opened at 1,472.8 won, up 4 won from the prior session (the 5th), then faced downward pressure throughout the day. It fell into the 1,460-won range at 10:02 a.m. and dropped to as low as 1,465.8 won at 3:01 p.m. It then rebounded to close at 1,466.9 won.
A major factor was foreigners, who had been dumping domestic stocks early in the session, turning to net buying. Immediately after the open, foreigners were net sellers of 200 billion won in the Korea Exchange, but later shifted to net buying. At the close, they had net bought 321.3 billion won.
A turn to dollar weakness also supported the lower rate. Expectations are rising that the benchmark rate will be cut by 0.25 percentage point at the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) meeting of the Federal Reserve on Jan. 9–10, pushing the dollar lower. The current U.S. benchmark rate is 3.75%–4.00% annually.
According to Investing.com, the dollar index, which reflects the dollar's value against six major currencies, stood at 98.88 as of 3:58 p.m. It fell 0.1% from the day before and 0.53% from a week earlier. When this reading is below 100, it indicates the dollar is weaker compared with major currencies.
The won-yen cross rate was 947.6 won per ¥100 as of 3:30 p.m., down 2.4 won from a day earlier. The dollar-yen rate rose 0.43% to ¥155.25.