1 Month USD/KRW Back Sub 20-day EMA, June Trade Out Soon, Onshore Spot Hours Extended

1 month USD/KRW got to lows just under 1373 in NY trade on Friday, we finished slightly higher (1378.6). Still the won gained close to 0.60% for last week, which was the best performing currency in EM Asia FX for the week. Note onshore spot ended last Friday at 1376.5.

• Note today kicks off extended trading hours for onshore USD/KRW spot. From the current 3:30pm close this extends to 2am. This is part of broader reform efforts, which also includes ambitions for global bond index inclusion.
• For USD/KRW focus will be on whether we can maintain last week's downtrend. For the 1 month NDF we are sub the 20-day EMA which is back just above 1379. Month end related flows may have aided KRW last week, although the authorities are likely to be on-guard against a sharp move through the 1390/1400 region.
• Local equities ended close to recent highs last week, with the Kospi near 2800. Offshore investors added $352.3mn to local shares last week, significantly outperforming Taiwan (nearly $2.2bn in outflows).
• Coming up shortly we have June trade data. The market expects slowed export growth (+4.4%y/y, versus a revised +11.5% gain in May). A little later on the June PMI print is out.