Markets

South Korea won edges down in thin trade after 2-day rally

Published March 27, 2013 Updated March 27, 2013 05:38am

SEOUL: The South Korean won edged down early on Wednesday as traders took a breather after two straight sessions of gains and after North Korea repeated its threats of nuclear war against the United States and South Korea.

The local currency was quoted at 1,108.0 against the dollar at 0025 GMT, compared with Tuesday's domestic close at 1,105.7.

The won has hurtled up 1 percent against the greenback this week alone, prompting some dollar purchases. This year, the won is down about 3 percent.

Bellicose rhetoric from North Korea also kept market players hesitant against betting on the won after the isolated state repeated threats to target US military bases late on Tuesday.

Traders said the early-session losses may be short-lived as local exporters are expected to sell dollars for month-end settlements.

The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index was down 0.1 percent.