South Korean Won Edges Up as 24-Hour FX Trading Starts

The launch of the 24-hour won-dollar weekday trading for Korea's onshore market on Monday is a somewhat belated but appropriate push toward gaining developed market status in the MSCI global index and enhanced currency convertibility. Moreover, it should be a move toward stabilizing the weak Korean won. Monday's step would keep the spot trading open from 6 a.m. through Saturday at 6 a.m., allowing late-hour trading, except on Jan. 1 and during the weekends. It is an easing of a tightly monitored foreign exchange trading system largely set in place after the 1997-98 financial crisis, enhancing currency convertibility. Finance Minister Koo Yun-cheol said that it would be the "starting point for the won's global leap." Yet, the move has both foreseeable benefits and downsides that must be managed through vigilant oversight. Looking at the 24-hour trading through an optimistic lens, Korean firms will have better access to hedge against late-hour foreign exchange volatility. Korean retail investors who invest in the U.S. bourses would enjoy more convenient access to foreign exchange transac

The South Korean won was stable against the dollar after inching higher as the currency began its first day of 24-hour trading, marking a milestone in Seoul’s push to open its financial markets to global investors. The won eased 0.1 per cent to 1,531.40 against the US dollar, after rising as much as 0.2 per cent when it started trading at 6am. Other major currency pairs were little changed. The launch of 24-hour trading is the centrepiece of a years-long effort to improve foreign access to local...

The South Korean won was stable against the dollar after inching higher as the currency began its first day of 24-hour trading, marking a milestone in Seoul’s push to open its financial markets to global investors.

The South Korean won inched higher against the dollar as the currency began its first day of 24-hour trading.