Bank of Korea says it will respond to one-sided FX market moves

The Bank of Korea has stated it will respond if one-sided movements in the foreign exchange market become more pronounced, Yonhap News reported. Yoon Gyeong-soo, Director General of the Bank of Korea's International Department, said the central bank is closely monitoring the outflow of foreign equity funds from a supply and demand perspective. He added that while the bank does not target a specific exchange rate, the won has been depreciating at a rapid pace recently. Separately, South Korean foreign exchange authorities, including the Bank of Korea, announced today that they net-sold a record $22.467 billion in the fourth quarter of last year (October to December) to stabilize the market. Meanwhile, the USD/KRW exchange rate closed today at 1,530.1 won, an increase of 14.4 won.