Impact of Exchange Rate Defense... Foreign Exchange Reserves Decline After 7 Months [3-Minute Brief]

[At a Glance]
1. Foreign Exchange Reserves Decline After 7 Months... Down $2.6 Billion from Previous Month
2. Banks' Profitability Weakens... Corporate Lending Competition Heats Up
3. "Tariffs May Lower Inflation"... San Francisco Fed Report

MARKET INDEX : Year to date

○U.S. New York Stock Exchange hits record highs for the Dow Jones and S&P, driven by an AI and semiconductor rally

○Buying focused on tech stocks, while energy stocks declined

○Markets closely watching the interest rate trajectory ahead of the U.S. jobs report on the 9th

Top 3 NEWS

■ "Market Intervention as Year-End Exchange Rate Surges" Foreign Exchange Reserves Decline After 7 Months

○At the end of December last year, foreign exchange reserves stood at 428.05 billion dollars, down by 2.6 billion dollars
○Increase in foreign currency deposits at financial institutions and higher U.S. dollar conversion of other currencies
○Decrease attributed to stronger measures to ease foreign exchange market volatility

■ Banks Face 'Downward Pressure' on Profits... Fierce Competition in Corporate Lending

○Overall household loan growth, especially mortgages, is slowing
○Trend of base rate cuts makes narrowing of net interest margin inevitable
○'Coin wars' such as stablecoins are also intensifying

■ San Francisco Fed: "Tariff Hikes Do Not Cause Inflation"

○Trump raised U.S. tariffs by 15% last year
○Fed economists analyzed historical data
○"Addressing rising unemployment should take precedence over inflation"

Graphic News: "Korean Semiconductor Exports to Grow 11% This Year... Record High Exports Continue"

○Analysis by Korea Eximbank Overseas Economic Research Institute

○Export boom continues amid expanding AI investment, despite production capacity constraints

○System semiconductor exports also expected to regain competitiveness

the Chart: "Being Classified as a Developed Market Isn't Everything... Korean Stock Market Needs to Scale Up"

○Effects of inclusion in developed market indices are hotly debated

○"Inclusion is just the starting point for capital market advancement"

○Long-term investment and the number of domestic institutional investors are increasing

Today's Key Schedule

○Domestic

○International

06:30 United States: API Weekly Crude Oil Stock

09:30 Japan: Services Purchasing Managers' Index (December)

16:00 Germany: Retail Sales (MoM) (November)

18:30 United Kingdom: Construction Purchasing Managers' Index (December)

22:15 United States: ADP Non-Farm Employment Change (December)

◇Lunchtime & Commute Weather

○Lowest temperature -1℃(▲5℃) ｜Highest temperature: 2℃(▼2℃)
○Chance of precipitation: Morning 40%｜Afternoon 0%
○Fine dust: Sometimes poor in the morning｜Moderate in the afternoon

3 minutes is all you need: essential, value-for-time economic news. Published daily at 8:00 a.m.