The South Korean won weakened further against the U.S. dollar on Tuesday, falling to a fresh 17-year low as foreign investors continued to sell local equities and market participants maintained expectations of a strong U.S. currency, News.Az reports, citing Yonhap.
The won was quoted at 1,549.4 per U.S. dollar at 3:30 p.m. local time, down 4.2 won from the previous session and marking its weakest level since March 6, 2009.
The currency opened at 1,543.1 won per dollar, 2.1 won stronger than the previous session’s close, but later declined to as low as 1,550.2 won per dollar during morning trading.
It marked the first time in 16 trading sessions that the South Korean currency had fallen to the 1,550-won level during intraday trading.
The won has remained under pressure as foreign investors continued to be net sellers of South Korean stocks, while investors maintained their preference for the U.S. dollar amid expectations of continued strength in the greenback.
Additional downward pressure on the won came from the Japanese yen, which also fell to a 40-year low against the U.S. dollar.
Foreign investors sold a net 3.8 trillion won (approximately $2.5 billion) worth of South Korean stocks on Tuesday, extending their streak of net selling to eight consecutive trading sessions.
Despite the currency’s decline and continued foreign selling, the benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) rose 0.97% to close at 8,476.47.