SeoulMarkets · tag
won
5 stories tagged “won”, each from official Korean data with its source and timestamp.
The won just hit a 14-month high, two months after its worst point
On 7 September the won closed at 1,355.2 to the dollar — its strongest since 2 July 2025. That is 12.8% stronger than the 1,554.4 it hit on 2 July 2026, almost exactly a year later. The whole year's move unwound in nine weeks.
Korea's import bill rose 18% — but rubber jumped 96% and sugar fell 12%
Korea's won-priced import index rose 18.4% over the year to July 2026 — on average. Behind it: synthetic rubber +96% and fuels near +77%, while sugar and dairy fell. The won moved everything alike; the spread is the goods.
The won, not the goods, drove much of Korea's imported inflation
Over the year to July 2026 Korea's import prices rose 18.4% in won but only 11.1% in contract currency. The 7-point gap is the exchange rate, not dearer goods. A March commodity spike lifted all gauges, then partly eased. Not advice.
Korea's import prices rose 9% in the seller's currency and 20% in won. The gap is the exchange rate.
Priced in the currency each contract is written in, Korea's imports cost 9.1% more over the year to June. In won they cost 19.7% more. The 33-point gap between the two indices is not the goods getting dearer — it is the won getting weaker.
China is Korea's biggest trading partner. Its yuan futures are 0.03% of the market.
Across 629 trading days, 99.0% of Korean currency-futures turnover was one contract: the dollar. The exchange also lists 1,272 flexible-dated dollar futures that have never traded once.