SEOUL, Aug 7: The South Korean won stayed almost flat against the dollar on Tuesday as hope among some investors for moves to tackle the euro zone’s debts woes was offset by local importers buying dollars on bargains.
The local currency was quoted at 1,128.8 against the dollar, compared to Monday’s onshore close at 1,129.0.
‘We saw continuous bids for dollars from institutions including the National Pension Service and other public companies,’ said a foreign bank dealer in Seoul, adding that strong dollar demand was consistently seen above the 1,130 level.
Seoul shares finished flat at 1,886.80 points on Tuesday as market players took a breather after Monday’s jump.
Foreign investors bought a modest net 52.9 billion won ($46.85 million) worth of South Korean stocks.
Movements of local bond prices were subdued, as market participants avoided taking a definite direction before the South Korean central bank’s monetary policy committee convenes on Thursday.
The Bank of Korea is widely expected to hold rates at 3.00 percent as it assesses the effects of July’s surprise cut, according to a Reuters poll.
September futures on three-year treasury bonds inched up 0.02 points to 106.26.
Yield on the benchmark five-year treasury bonds and three-year treasury bonds were both unchanged at 2.87 percent and 2.78 percent, respectively.
Close Prev close Dollar/won
1,128.8 1,129.0 Yen/won 14.4224/294
14.3988/4109 *KTB futures 106.26 106.24 5-yr treasury bonds 2.87 pct 2.87 pct 3-yr treasury bonds 2.78 pct 2.78 pct Average call rate 2.98 pct
3.07 pct ^6-mth KORIBOR 3.11 pct 3.13 pct KOSPI 1,886.80 1,885.88 * Front-month futures on 3-year treasury bonds ^ Korea interbank offered rate ($1 = 1129.1500 Korean won)
(AGENCIES)
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