Seoul: Won falls, posts the worst monthly loss in 6 months

[SEOUL] The South Korean won slid against the dollar on Friday as investors feared the weaker yen would weigh further on already weak exports, raising the possibility of smoothing operations by foreign exchange authorities.

The won ended local trade down 0.2 per cent at 1,108.2 per dollar, compared with the previous close at 1,105.8.

On a monthly basis, the local currency was down 3.2 per cent, posting the sharpest losses since November. It shed 1.6 per cent this week, the biggest weekly losses in 11 weeks.

On the stock market, the Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) ended up 0.2 per cent at 2,114.80 points. During the month, the KOSPI fell 0.6 per cent, snapping a fourth consecutive monthly gaining streak. It was down 1.5 per cent this week.

REUTERS