Data & BoK Combine As Tailwinds For KRW

Won is stronger on Wednesday, USD/KRW retreating from the psychological 1,200 level after briefly breaching the level early in yesterday's session. The move lower comes after the BoK kept rates on hold yesterday but the decision had two dissenters and BoK Governor Lee indicated that the November meeting was live for a hike, but did leave wiggle room saying that any hikes would depend on economic conditions and the course of the pandemic. USD/KRW down 4.05 at 1194.55

• Data earlier showed the jobless rate rose to 3.0%, in line with estimates but higher than the 2.8% seen in August. However, the rise masks strength in the report; the decline is due to a higher participation rate as people return to work despite the fourth wave of the pandemic, job growth was the largest in seven years and was the seventh straight month of job growth.
• Other data showed exports continued to remain strong, rising 63.5% in the first 10 days of October on the back of robust demand for chips, petroleum products and autos. The rise denotes the eleventh straight month of increases for exports.
• On the coronavirus front there were 1,584 new cases in the past 24 hours. PM Kim earlier said that the government is considering introducing a vaccine pass system to benefit fully vaccinated people, as it plans to adopt a gradual scheme named "living with COVID-19" to get back to normal life on Nov. 9.