1 Month USD/KRW Holding Above Recent Lows

From highs around 1278 in Asia Pac trade yesterday, the 1 month USD/KRW NDF got back to 1267 prior to the FOMC. We spiked back towards 1275, before finishing up the NY session near 1272. Note onshore spot closed yesterday at 1278.50.

• For the 1 month NDF, recent lows come in close to 1263.50, which were made early in Wednesday trade.
• The bounce higher in the 1 month NDF yesterday appeared more corrective rather than fundamentally driven, with onshore equities also faltering despite positive offshore leads.
• Yesterday's won weakness has unwound some of the recent outperformance, but only at the margins (the currency is still up 3.74% month to date).
• The offshore lead for the Kospi is again positive, with the SOX +1.52%, MSCI IT +1.06%, outperforming broader equity indices. Offshore investors did sell -$158.7mn of local Korean shares yesterday, amid the corrective pullback.
• The data calendar is empty until next week. Japan and South Korea will resume a bilateral currency swap deal.
• Elsewhere focus is on South Korea-China relations, with the Korean authorities attempting to organize a trilateral summit with China and Japan to improve ties (see this link for more details).