The South Korean currency rebounded against the US dollar on Wednesday as the Fed's minutes bolstered expectations for its further quantitative easing, dealers said.
The local currency closed at 1,120.70 won to the greenback, up 10.80 won from Tuesday's close.
"Heightened prospects for US additional quantitative easing provided an excuse for dollar sales, making the won reverse the previous session's losses," said Byeon Ji-young, a currency analyst at Woori Futures Co.
The won's sharp ascent came as the minutes of the September 21 policy meeting by the Fed showed that more easing money policies may be needed "before long," upping market players' expectations that the Fed is poised to resume asset purchases.
The Korean unit fell by 14.8 won to the dollar on Tuesday, the largest daily loss since June 29, as foreign investors' appetite for risky assets waned and regulatory risks over a potential control of capital inflows increased.
The local currency strengthened to an intra-day high of 1,117.30 won to the greenback, but it trimmed earlier gains amid foreign stock sales, the dealers said.
The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index gained 0.43 percent to 1,876.15. But foreign investors unloaded a net 141.8 billion won (US$ 126.7 million) worth of local stocks on the main bourse.
Analysts said the won's rising trend is likely to continue amid competitive moves by advanced economies to drive down the value of their currencies and hopes for US monetary easing steps.
The currency dispute comes as sputtering growth and stubbornly high unemployment rates are luring them into relying more on exports as a way to boost growth.
Amid robust exports and sustained inflows of foreign stock and bond funds, the Korean unit has risen 3.91 percent per the dollar so far this year.
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