SEOUL: The South Korean won firmed in thin trade on Monday after sliding last week, supported by positive domestic trade data published at the weekend that showed exports grew in May despite a sharply depreciating yen.
The local currency was quoted at 1,128.0 against the dollar at the end of onshore trade, compared to Friday's domestic close at 1,129.7.
Market participants said demand for the won outweighed demand for the dollar from offshore investors on the positive sentiment, although the greenback maintained its strength against a basket of major currencies on Monday.
South Korean exports grew in May at the fastest annual rate in four months, government data showed on Saturday, suggesting the sharply depreciated yen did not hurt local exporters as some economists predicted it would.
"Trade was tepid today, unlike other Mondays. The trade data seems to have affected market sentiment more than your everyday ebb and flow - enough for some players to have hastily cut dollar-long positions," said a foreign bank dealer in Seoul.
Another dealer said the positive sentiment stemming from the trade data would only be temporary and fail to dilute the recent broad strength the dollar has seen globally on signs of recovery in the US economy.
The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index fell 0.6 percent, with foreigners net sellers of 19.0 billion won ($16.82 million) worth of South Korean stocks on Monday.
Local bond prices crawled up, showing little movement as investors took a breather after volatility last week that took treasury yields to record levels. June futures on three-year treasury bonds rose 0.04 points to 106.20.
Yields on five-year treasury bonds and three-year treasury bonds both remained unchanged from Friday.
Comments
Comments are closed for this article.