FX VOLATILITY IN SOUTH KOREA REACHES HIGHEST SINCE COVID-19 PANDEMIC AMID MIDDLE EAST TENSIONS

SEOUL, March 8 (Bernama-Yonhap) -- The daily volatility of the Korean won against the U.S. dollar has risen to its highest level since the COVID-19 pandemic amid heightened tensions in the Middle East, data showed Sunday, Yonhap News Agency reported.

The won has fluctuated sharply following the U.S.-Israeli joint attacks on Iran on Feb. 28, with the average daily fluctuation of the won against the greenback reaching 13.2 won as of Friday, according to the economic statistics system of the Bank of Korea.

The level of volatility marks the highest since March 2020, when it reached 13.8 won as the COVID-19 pandemic roiled global financial markets.

It is also higher than the 9.7 won recorded in April 2025, when U.S. President Donald Trump threatened to impose sweeping tariffs on foreign imports in what he dubbed "Liberation Day."

The Korean won was also among the worst-performing currencies, falling 2.81 per cent against the U.S. dollar this month alone, according to Yonhap Infomax, the financial data arm of Yonhap News Agency.

The decline was steeper than that of the euro (1.69 per cent), the Australian dollar (1.24 per cent) and the Japanese yen (1.21 per cent).

Market watchers attribute the heightened volatility to South Korea's heavy reliance on energy imports and its export-dependent economy.

"As South Korea has relatively higher dependence on energy imports and its market is more open, the Korean won is more sensitive to related risks and is showing increased volatility," said Park Hyung-joong, an economist at Woori Bank.

BERNAMA-YONHAP