The South Korean won weakened against the dollar Wednesday, with traders watching for a Federal Reserve signal on whether rates may rise later this year, The Korea Herald reported.
At 2:30 a.m. ET (06:30 UTC), as Seoul’s Wednesday stock session ended, the dollar-won rate stood at 1,337.7 won per dollar, 14 won above its previous close. The Korea Herald said the rate touched 1,342.3 in afternoon trading, its highest reading of the session and the won’s weakest point.
The Korea Herald said foreign investors appeared to be adding dollar futures and closing trades that had bet against the U.S. currency. Yonhap reported that overseas investors were net buyers of South Korean shares worth 815.8 billion won ($609 million) in the latest regular session; the Korea Composite Stock Price Index gained 6.63% and ended at 6,012.44.
Bank of Korea data put the rate at 1,328.1 won per dollar on Oct. 20 and 1,323.1 on Oct. 26, when it recorded its strongest close of 2026, as EconoTimes previously reported.
The Fed was expected to keep its key policy rate unchanged this week. Traders looked for any indication of a possible rate increase later in the year, The Korea Herald reported.
