Authorities Resolve On FX Stability Still Being Tested

The 1 month USD/KRW NDF climbed as high as 1293 post the Asia-close, before closing around 1291 in NY. This is through the May 12 high of 1292.69. Spot closed yesterday just under 1284.

• Headwinds remain strong for the won from an equity market standpoint. Loses in the SOX accelerated to 5.61% overnight, while the MSCI IT index lost 4.61%.
• These moves come after the Kospi fell 3.5% yesterday. Foreign investors sold $349mn in local equities, after net outflows of $2.45bn from last week.
• The 1 month NDF closing level in NY of just under 1291 implies a higher spot open today.
• This could see resolve around FX stability tested once again. Yesterday's comments around monitoring excessive volatility helped push onshore USD/KRW spot lower. Note that the May 12th high in spot was 1291.45. Beyond that is the March 2020 high of 1296.75.
• Locally, the BoK minutes from the May policy decision are due. The decision was unanimous to hike by 25bps.
• The on-going truckers' strike is expected to impact activity more this week, if it persists, as inventory levels start to wane for key producers. The daily volume of containers transported to and from South Korea's 12 ports dropped to 68% of the May average yesterday.