Won Hits 9-Month High on Suspected Market Smoothing

The South Korean won strengthened to its highest level in nine months against the U.S. dollar on July 31, following suspected intervention by the nation's foreign exchange authorities.

The won reached a high of 1,418 per dollar, a level not seen since October 20 last year. Analyst Lee Min-hyuk from KB Kookmin Bank suggested that the correlation between the Korean and Japanese currencies may indicate joint intervention by their respective authorities.

Lee noted that the overnight strength of both currencies could be a sign that South Korea and Japan have intervened together in the markets, although this remains speculative. The yen rose to 158 per dollar in New York trading, its strongest level in over two years.