On the 9th, the won-dollar exchange rate rose 7.0 won to 1,457.6 won at the close of weekly trading, marking a gain for seven straight sessions. It was the highest in 10 trading days since Dec. 23 last year (1,483.6 won).
That day on the Seoul foreign exchange market, the won-dollar rate opened at 1,453.8 won, up 3.2 won from the prior day's weekly close at 3:30 p.m. It dipped to 1,452.1 won early in the session, but later in the afternoon extended gains and approached the high-1,450 won range.
This is attributed to stronger-than-expected U.S. employment data released overnight, which weakened expectations for an early rate cut by the Federal Reserve (Fed).
As of the 3rd, initial U.S. jobless claims stood at 208,000, below the market forecast of 212,000, and U.S. corporations' layoff plans in December last year were around 36,000, a sharp drop from the previous month's 71,000.
When expectations for U.S. rate cuts ease, the view spreads that the Korea-U.S. rate gap will be hard to narrow significantly for the time being. As a result, the appeal of dollar assets is maintained, supporting a stronger dollar and weaker won (a higher won-dollar exchange rate).
Also that day, foreigners were net sellers of 1.5947 trillion won in stocks on the main bourse, pushing the exchange rate higher. The demand to convert won into dollars increased.