Against the U.S. dollar, the won exchange rate (won-dollar rate) finished weekly transactions at 1,429.8 won at 3:30 p.m. on the 3rd. It was up 5.8 won (0.4%) from the previous transaction day's weekly transaction closing price. Following the 31st of last month, it recorded the 1,420-won range for two consecutive transaction days.
The rate opened transactions at 1,437.5 won at 6 a.m. that day and was 1,435.7 won at 9 a.m. It then began to fall, dropping to 1,425 won around 3:05 p.m., before ending transactions slightly higher.
The recent decline in the rate is seen as stemming from SK hynix's listing of American depository receipts (ADR), which prompted exporters to sell dollars they hold. When dollar selling grows in the Seoul foreign exchange market, the rate tends to fall. SK hynix has been selling the $26.5 billion raised through the ADR listing into the foreign exchange market since the 15th of last month.
Foreign exchange authorities are also stepping up market intervention. The authorities were said to have sold a large amount of dollars into the market on the 30th of last month. On that day, the rate fell from 1,437.4 won at 3:30 p.m. to 1,419 won at 10:44 p.m. There is also an outlook that, as the U.S. and Japanese governments coordinated for the first time in 15 years to lift the value of the Japanese yen, the won, which is grouped with Asian currencies, will also strengthen.
The United States canceling an airstrike on Iran and pursuing a deal also affected the rate. U.S. President Donald Trump claimed on the 2nd (local time) that a deal with Iran had been reached regarding the Strait of Hormuz issue. If the war ends, investor appetite could shift from the safe-haven dollar to risk assets such as stocks, pushing the rate lower.