FTimes- Xinhua Report Oct. 15
The South Korean currency's volatility hit the highest in almost four years in the third quarter due to the expected interest rate hike in the United States, central bank data showed Thursday.
The daily average volatility in the won/U.S. dollar exchange rate was 0.63 percent for the July-September period, the highest since 0.81 percent tallied in the fourth quarter of 2011, according to the Bank of Korea (BOK).
During the third quarter, the monthly volatility continued to widen on growing expectations that the U.S. Federal Reserve would raise interest rate for the first time since the 2008 global financial crisis.
Volatilities for currencies of Brazil, Russia, South Africa, Mexico, the euro zone, Australia and Turkey to the dollar were higher than the South Korean currency in the third quarter, BOK data showed.
The South Korean won fell to the dollar in the past three months, helping exporters boost price competitiveness.
The won/dollar exchange rate was 1,185.3 won per dollar as of end-September up 5.9 percent from three months earlier.
The daily average turnover of foreign currencies in the inter-bank market was 23.48 billion U.S. dollars in the third quarter, down 5.5 percent from the previous quarter.
