2026.11.0204:28:44UTC+00South Korean Won Falls as Overseas Dollar Demand Persists

The South Korean won hovered around 1,345 per dollar, giving back recent gains amid sustained demand for overseas assets and continued foreign equity outflows. Growing investment in foreign securities by South Korean residents has become a structural driver of dollar demand, weakening the traditional correlation between trade surpluses and won appreciation. Net purchases of overseas securities jumped 71.5% month-on-month in October to $7.09 billion. At the same time, resident foreign-currency deposits climbed to a record $154.7 billion in September, an increase of $14 billion from the previous month, reflecting higher dollar receipts from exporters and funds parked for overseas bond investments. Even so, robust export performance and dollar conversions by exporters are lending support to the currency: October exports soared 93.7% year-on-year to an all-time high of $115.3 billion, driven by a 259% surge in semiconductor shipments to $56.4 billion.