SEOUL: The South Korean won sharply rose against the dollar by midday on Friday, joining a broader rally against the US dollar led in Asia by the Chinese yuan.
Market reaction was broadly muted after the Bank of Korea kept its policy interest rate steady at a record low of 1.50 per cent early in the session, which had been largely expected.
The market was awaiting a news conference by Bank of Korea Governor Lee Ju-yeol due to be begin at 11.20am (0220 GMT).
The won was quoted at 1,182.6 per dollar, up 1 per cent as of 0153 GMT, after touching as high as 1,181.4, the strongest intraday level since Sept 2.
