1 Month USD/KRW Pulls Back From YTD Highs, Tech Equities Rebound

1 month USD/KRW closed on Monday in NY near session lows around the 1333 region. Won gains, in terms of the 1 month NDF, were near 0.55% for the session. Note onshore spot finished yesterday at 1336.80. More broadly the 1 month NDF has backed away from a test of YTD highs above 1340, but we may need to break back below the simple 200-day MA (under 1327) to turn the near term outlook more constructive.

• On the data front, we have already had April trade prices. Export prices continue to falter, now down to -7.5% y/y, near 2020 lows, while import prices were at -5.80% y/y, a slightly uptick from March. The local data calendar is empty now until the start of next week.
• We do have a South Korean Cabinet meeting at 10am local time, while geopolitical issues may also be in focus in the lead up to the G7 meeting.
• The equity lead is more positive for the Kospi today, albeit with the SOX (+2.68%) notably outperforming the MSCI IT (+0.70%). This came despite the disappointing Empire manufacturing survey, which showed a sharp slowdown in planned tech spending.
• To recap, the Kospi finished in positive territory yesterday (+0.16%), although offshore investors still sold -$128.5mn local shares.