SEOUL: The South Korean won was one of the world’s major currencies that sharply weakened against the U.S. dollar in the past month, data showed Wednesday, ending its appreciation that had dented the competitiveness of local exporters.
The local currency closed at 1,164.9 against the greenback on Tuesday, falling 4.1 percent from a month earlier, according to market data.
The fall marked the sixth-largest drop after the Russian ruble, Brazilian real, Chilean peso, Canadian dollar and Australian dollar. The five currencies saw a rapid decline as a strengthening greenback sent raw material prices lower.
The won’s weakening comes as a boon for South Korea’s export-reliant economy, as a rising won saps the price competitiveness of local exporters that compete with companies in other countries whose currency weakened against the U.S. dollar.
The data, meanwhile, showed that when analyzing data from the past three years, the won was one of the currencies that saw the smallest fall.
The Russian ruble and the Brazilian real slumped 45.6 percent and 39.9 percent in the cited period. The Japanese yen also tumbled 36.7 percent as Tokyo stepped up its Abenomics move.
contrast, the won dipped 2.2 percent.
