USD/KRW Edges Back Above 1340, August Trade Figures On Tap

1 month USD/KRW post Asia close dips sub 1340 were supported. The pair didn't get above 1345 overnight and we finished the NY session at 1341.40. Note that onshore spot ended yesterday's session at 1338.10. South Korea trade figures for August are on tap today, followed by the PMI reading.

• Earlier, Q2 GDP revisions printed, but there was no change to the initial estimates (+0.7% QoQ and +2.9% YoY).
• Coming up is August trade figures, which will carry more weight. The market expects export growth to slow further to 5.6% from a revised 9.2% in July. Imports are expected to nudge higher to 23.7%, which takes the trade position to a -$8.2bn from -$4.8bn last month.
• We also get the August PMI print a little later. Last month we came in at 49.8.
• The offshore lead from equities is negative leading into today's session, although the Kospi has outperformed broader global trends over the past few sessions. To recap, the index rose just under 0.90% yesterday.
• The early tone in US futures is negative, particularly for the Nasdaq. This follows weakness in major chip makers after the US government announced restrictions on chip sales to China.
• Offshore investors added a large +$601.9mn yesterday, which was the last trading day of the month, so may have reflected rebalancing. Still, for the month of August net inflows were an impressive +$3bn.