Won Surges to Nine-Month High Amid Speculated Joint Intervention

The Korean won has reached its strongest level in nine months against the US dollar. The currency was quoted at 1,418 won per dollar as of around 6 a.m., surpassing its previous high set on October 20 last year.

The won's appreciation is attributed to suspected market-smoothing operations by Korea's foreign exchange authorities. This has led to speculation that both Korean and Japanese authorities may have intervened in the markets together.

Korean analyst Lee Min-hyuk notes a correlation between the won and yen, which rose to its strongest level in over two years. At one point, the yen was valued at around 158 per dollar in New York trading.