South Korea not worried about won fall after China move: official

[SEOUL] South Korea is not overly worried about any weakening in the won after China's currency devaluation as long as the won moves in an orderly manner, a South Korean foreign exchange official told Reuters on Tuesday.

The official said the Chinese central bank's move earlier in the day was seen as aimed at better reflecting market conditions rather than one which could spark a so-called currency war, in which countries push their currencies lower to boost exports.

China let the yuan fall nearly 2 per cent to its lowest level in almost three years, and said it was a "one-off depreciation" based on a new way of managing the exchange rate, though economists said the time suggested it was also aimed at helping exporters.

The official, who declined to be identified, added that the US Federal Reserve's likely interest rate increase later this year would not cause major volatility in the foreign exchange markets because the Fed has signaled a raise for a very long time.

REUTERS