SEOUL: The South Korean won was little changed in early trade on Tuesday, as concerns about additional intervention by local authorities to slow its gains offset dollar-selling by exporters and foreign inflows.
The local currency was quoted at 1,060.8 against the dollar as of 0205 GMT, compared with 1,061.1 at the end of onshore trade Monday.
The won crept up to an intraday high of 1,060.5 following news that China's central bank will inject liquidity into its markets, easing fears about tightening in the world's second-largest economy. South Korea also ran a $4.97 billion current account surplus in September, central bank showed, further supporting the currency.
But the won faced firm resistance around its intraday highs, as a lack of major cues and concerns about additional intervention kept the currency in a tight band. Some dealers also speculated there might have been intervention again on Tuesday morning.
South Korean policymakers have repeatedly warned that the won's recent gains are excessive, and dealers suspect that local authorities bought dollars on Thursday and Friday to slow its rise. The local currency is up 1.3 percent against the dollar so far in October, on track to record its fourth consecutive month of gains.
"The dollar-won rate can't go much lower because of intervention concerns, while exporters continue selling dollars as usual at the month's end," a dealer at a local bank said. "It's hard to expect any major moves, but we could see some short-covering on the dollar if the dollar-won fails to go any lower."
The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index was up 0.1 percent at 2,050.95.
December futures on three-year treasury bonds were up 0.04 point at 105.99, recouping some of their losses from Monday.
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