S. Korean won hits near 2-year high against U.S. dollar

The Korean won has reached a near two-year high against the US dollar, buoyed by dollar sales made by local exporters. The currency was trading at 1,335.1 won per dollar as of 3:30 p.m., a 7.7 won increase from the previous trading session's close. At one point during afternoon trading, the won surged to a high of 1,331.3 per dollar, marking its strongest level since October 4, 2024.

This gain is attributed to local exporters, particularly semiconductor manufacturers, converting their dollar earnings into Korean won. Additionally, foreigners sold a net 2.01 trillion won ($1.5 billion) worth of local shares during the latest trading session, causing the Korea Composite Stock Price Index to drop 3.65 percent, closing at 6,384.24.

Brief written by urgent.news from The Korea Times's own syndicated text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.