Foreign exchange news covering currency rates, dollar strength, forex trading, and currency market developments.
The won weakened to 1,561.5 per dollar in overnight trading on June 7, the highest intraday level since the 2009 global financial crisis. Foreign investors have sold Korean stocks for 20 consecutive days, with total 2026 sales approaching $77 billion. May inflation hit 3.1%, the highest in over two years.
South Korea announced targeted measures to stem the won's decline after it hit its weakest level since 2009. Deputy Prime Minister Koo Yun Cheol convened an emergency meeting with the central bank and regulators, pledging firm action against speculative trading.
Goldman Sachs analysts predict the Indian rupee's depreciation will be limited after recent measures by the Reserve Bank of India and the government to boost foreign inflows. The steps should limit depreciation pressure on the rupee, envisaging a plateau in the dollar/rupee cross rate.
Indonesia's foreign-exchange reserves dropped to $144.9 billion in May, marking the longest decline since 2018. The fall was driven by external debt payments and central bank efforts to stabilize the rupiah, which recently hit a record low amid global financial uncertainty.
The Bank of Israel intervened in currency markets for the first time since 2022, purchasing $801 million in May to stem the shekel's sharp appreciation. The shekel had hit a 33-year high against the dollar, threatening tech sector jobs. The intervention weakened the shekel by 4.6% the following week.
This commentary argues that three groups—economists, market participants, and moralists—are offering conflicting advice on how to handle the rupee's decline. The author contends that economists favor letting the rupee find its own level, while market wallahs advocate for defending the currency, and the central bank often sides with the latter despite its stated policy.
China's foreign exchange reserves increased by $31.7 billion to $3.442 trillion in May, beating economists' expectations of a decline to $3.4 trillion. The People's Bank of China attributed the rise to a stronger U.S. dollar and gains in global financial assets.