Foreign exchange authorities appear to have sold about $1.7 billion in foreign currency in the forex market in the third quarter of this year (July to September). With the won-dollar rate, which was in the 1,350-won range at the end of the second quarter, climbing above 1,400 won in the third quarter, they seem to have moved to defend the currency.
According to the "net transactions by foreign exchange authorities in the third quarter of 2025" released by the Bank of Korea on the 31st, the authorities made net sales of $1.745 billion in the forex market in the third quarter to stabilize the market. The net selling scale expanded to about double from the previous quarter ($797 million net sales).
Net forex transactions are calculated by subtracting the amount sold from the total amount of foreign currency purchased by the authorities. A negative (-) net figure means the authorities made net sales of foreign currency in the forex market to curb the won-dollar rate's upward trend.
In fact, according to the Bank of Korea (BOK), the weekly closing price of the won-dollar rate at 3:30 p.m., which was 1,350 won on June 30 this year, turned upward starting in July when the United States signaled a reciprocal tariff, surging to 1,383.1 won at the end of July and 1,390.1 won at the end of August. On Sept. 30, the last day of the third quarter, it recorded 1,402.9 won.
The Bank of Korea (BOK) and the Ministry of Economy and Finance have published the authorities' quarterly net forex transactions since the third quarter of 2019. Recent quarterly net forex transaction amounts are as follows: ▲ first quarter of 2024, -$1.815 billion ▲ second quarter, -$5.796 billion ▲ third quarter, +$192.0 billion ▲ fourth quarter, -$3.755 billion ▲ first quarter of 2025, -$2.96 billion ▲ second quarter, -$797 million.