South Korea warns of action over won’s plunge

A senior South Korean official warned of action on Thursday if the won moved on speculative bets, local media reported, two days after the currency tumbled to its weakest in more than 13 years against the U.S. dollar.

“The authorities would take action in a timely manner if herd behavior took place or speculative trades expanded on the foreign exchange market,” Yonhap News TV cable channel quoted senior presidential aide Choi Sang-Mok as telling reporters. The win fell as low as 1,346.6 per dollar on Tuesday, hitting its weakest since late April 2009 and posting a 12% loss so far this year.

While there is no need to worry about the won’s weakening trend itself, authorities are closely watching its movement as a rapid fall in the currency could have adverse effects such as pushing up local inflation, Choi was cited as saying.

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