The won-dollar exchange rate opened at 1,510.8 won on the 3rd. That was down 8.9 won from the previous day.
This is seen as driven by growing expectations that the Strait of Hormuz, blocked by the Middle East war, will reopen. When geopolitical risks ease, market appetite for risk assets grows. In that case, the value of the won, which is not a reserve currency, tends to rise.
On the 2nd (local time), news broke that Iran would establish a joint memorandum with Oman to ensure safe navigation in the Strait of Hormuz. According to local media, Iran's Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs Kazem Gharibabadi said in an interview, "Even after the war ends, if some countries use war as a policy tool, ships of the aggressor country and its supporters, whether merchant vessels or warships, will not be permitted to pass through the strait."
At the same time, he said, "In peacetime, Iran and Oman, as coastal states, will ensure safe and smooth navigation through cooperation." Vice Minister Gharibabadi said of the memorandum with Oman that it is "not a restrictive measure but a mechanism to provide better services to vessels and facilitate safe passage."
In response, the three major U.S. stock indexes in New York pared losses or turned higher. On the New York Stock Exchange, the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 61.07 points, or 0.13%, to close at 46,504.67. The Standard & Poor's (S&P) 500 rose 7.37 points, or 0.11%, to 6,582.69, and the Nasdaq composite added 38.23 points, or 0.18%, to finish at 21,879.18.