On the 2nd, in the Seoul foreign exchange market, the won-dollar exchange rate began transaction at 1,439.5 won, up 0.5 won from the 30th of the previous month. With global dollar strength and domestic supply-demand factors intersecting, and as authorities' vigilance also plays a role, the rate is moving sideways without a clear direction.
In the market, as moves to buy dollars when the rate dips reemerge, concerns are rising that the rate may not fall easily. In fact, even on Dec. 30, the last transaction day of last year, dollar buying increased after the close, and the rate at one point climbed to 1,450 won.
However, there is also analysis that if the rate rises quickly, the increase will be limited due to the perception that the government and foreign exchange authorities could intervene and the possibility of the National Pension Service responding to the exchange rate.
Rhee Chang-yong, governor of the Bank of Korea, said in a New Year's address that "the recent exchange rate in the high-1,400 won range is at a level largely out of line with the fundamentals of our country's economy," adding, "as the won-dollar rate rose to the high-1,400 won range at the end of last year, market wariness remains elevated."