SEOUL: Banks’ spot trading of foreign currencies in South Korea soared to the highest level in seven years in tandem with a rise in won-yuan transactions, central bank data showed Thursday.
Daily spot trading volume reached US$21.8 billion in the second quarter, marking the highest level since the $21.9 billion tallied in the first quarter of 2008, according to the data by the Bank of Korea. From three months earlier, it also jumped 9.8 percent, marking a rise for the fourth straight quarter, the central bank said.
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The central bank explained that an increase in won-yuan transactions following the launch of a direct exchange market between the two currencies in December last year sent the volume higher. Won-yuan transactions reached $3.2 billion in the second quarter, nearly tripling from $1.4 billion in the first three months of the year.
Overall daily FX turnover averaged $49.8 billion in the second quarter, up 3.6 percent from the January-March period, the data also showed. The quarterly reading also marks the highest level since the $50.4 billion posted in the third quarter of 2008.
