South Korea tightens FX oversight after won hits 17-year low
What's new: Seoul ordered probes into offshore derivatives and suspected illegal FX trades after the won sank 2% Friday.
South Korea rolled out a package of currency-market controls on Sunday after the won fell to 1,562.2 per dollar on Friday, its weakest level since March 2009. Finance Minister Koo Yun-cheol met Bank of Korea Governor Shin Hyun-song and top financial regulators to approve tighter scrutiny of offshore non-deliverable forwards, inspections for suspected market manipulation and investigations into potentially illegal foreign-exchange transactions. Authorities will also check whether exporters and importers sped up payments or delayed receipts to profit from the won’s slide. Officials said they will monitor markets around the clock as Middle East tensions, higher energy costs and the US inflation outlook keep pressure on Asian currencies.