Exchange Rate Closes at 1466.6 Won, Down 5.9 Won on New Year's Day (Update)

On the first foreign exchange market trading day of the new year, the won-dollar exchange rate closed lower for the week on the 2nd.

On that day, in the Seoul foreign exchange market, the won-dollar exchange rate closed at 1466.6 won, down 5.9 won from the previous trading day as of 3:30 PM.

The won-dollar exchange rate opened at 1473.0 won, up 0.5 won from the previous trading day, but turned to a downward trend amid expectations that the National Pension Service would release foreign exchange hedging volumes.

Yoon Kyung-soo, Director of the International Department at the Bank of Korea, stated that day, "According to internal decisions of the National Pension Service, it is expected that foreign exchange hedging volumes will soon be released from the National Pension Service," adding, "This will contribute to stabilizing the exchange rate."

The National Pension Fund Management Committee extended the period for increasing the overseas investment foreign exchange hedging ratio by up to 10% until this year. The National Pension Service is reportedly conducting strategic foreign exchange hedging to reduce foreign exchange losses, considering the current exchange rate level to be high.