USD/KRW extends its five-day winning streak, trading around 1,540 after hitting 1,549, a level previously seen in March 2009, during the Asian hours on Friday.
The South Korean Won continues to decline despite explicit pledges from government officials to curb excessive market volatility
The KRW’s ongoing weakness highlights the severe pressure on the currency as geopolitical conflict involving Iran persists, with surging oil prices and stalled peace talks driving global capital reallocation. South Korea’s central bank has signaled an imminent pivot toward a more restrictive monetary policy stance to combat rising inflation, while the country’s finance minister has vowed to deploy targeted measures to stabilize the foreign exchange market. South Korea’s economic fundamentals remain notably robust, even as its current account surplus moderated to $28.29 billion in April 2026.
While down from the marginally revised, all-time high of $37.93 billion recorded the previous month, April’s figure still marks the second-largest monthly surplus on record. This slight month-over-month decline was primarily driven by a narrowing of the goods surplus to $33.88 billion from March’s $35.68 billion, even though outbound shipments remained incredibly strong, with exports surging 54.5% year-over-year to easily outpace a 16.1% increase in imports. Simultaneously, the USD/KRW pair has appreciated as the US Dollar maintains a firm footing on global markets.