SEOUL, Sept. 19 (Yonhap) — South Korea’s currency opened lower on Monday as exchange officials reportedly dumped dollars late last week to defend the value of the won. The local currency was trading this morning at 9:16 a.m. at 1,386.1 won against the greenback, an appreciation of 1.9 won from the close of the previous session. It oscillated between 1,381 and 1,386.7 won this morning.
Last week, the authorities showed their firm will to stabilize the exchange rate as it approached the 1,400 won mark. In addition, the strengthening of the US dollar has slowed somewhat following the drop in expected inflation in the United States. US consumers expect inflation of 4.6% for the next 12 months, down from 4.8% recorded last month, according to a study conducted by the University of Michigan.
That said, financial markets are still on guard ahead of the FOMC (Federal Open Market Committee) meeting scheduled for this week, where the US Federal Reserve (Fed) is likely to raise key interest rates by 0 .75 percentage points. to counter high inflation.