South Korea's currency on Thursday fell below the 1,300-won level against the US dollar for the first time in about 13 years amid growing concerns about global monetary tightening and an economic recession. The Korean currency was trading at 1,300.70 won against the dollar as of 9:52 a.m., down 3.40 won from the previous session. It marked the first time that the won has fallen through the 1,300-won level since July 14, 2009, in intraday trading. Market volatility has recently heightened ov

Seoul shares opened slightly higher Thursday after another market rout the previous session amid growing woes over an economic slowdown. The Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) rose 4.67 points, or 0.2 percent, to 2,327.68 in the first 15 minutes of trading. Overnight, Wall Street closed lower after Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell acknowledged the central bank's aggressive rate hikes could cause an economic downturn. The US central bank raised its policy rate by 0.75 percentage po

South Korea's producer prices grew for the fifth straight month in May, driven by rising prices of coal, oil and services, central bank data showed Thursday. The producer price index, a major barometer of consumer inflation, stood at 119.24 in May, up 0.5 percent from a revised 118.59 a month earlier, according to the preliminary data from the Bank of Korea (BOK). From a year earlier, the index jumped 9.7 percent, the 18th straight month of on-year rises. Energy and raw material prices rema

South Korean stocks fell again, shedding almost 3 percent Wednesday as recession woes made investors avoid risky assets amid hawkish monetary policy in major economies. The local currency fell to the lowest point against the US dollar in 13 years. The Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) dropped 66.12 points, or 2.74 percent, to close at 2,342.81. Trading volume was moderate at 520.87 million shares worth 8.50 trillion won ($6.54 billion), with decliners far outpacing gainers by 870 to 40.

Debt owed by South Korean households and companies in the first quarter of this year reached a combined 3,468.4 trillion won ($2.6 trillion), or 219.4 percent of South Korea’s gross domestic product, the Bank of Korea said Wednesday, warning a rate hike could worsen repayment burdens and hurt people’s purchasing power. The central bank, set to raise borrowing costs in July amid red-hot inflation, said in a report on financial stability that household and company debts fell by 0.1 pe

Citigroup’s South Korean subsidiary has said it will cooperate with local financial giant KB Kookmin Bank and the internet-only Toss Bank on transferring its unsecured personal loan portfolio worth some 8 trillion won ($6.1 billion). The move is part of Citibank Korea’s decision announced in October last year to shut down its retail banking operations in phases, after its monthslong attempt to find a buyer of the business failed. Its parent firm and US banking giant Citigroup decide

South Korea's top central banker will head to Switzerland this week to attend the general assembly of the Bank for International Settlement (BIS), his office said Wednesday. BOK Gov. Rhee Chang-yong will leave for Basel on Thursday to attend the annual BIS meeting over this weekend, according to the BOK. Rhee is to meet with top central bankers of other countries and exchange views on the latest economic and financial market situations, it added. He will also attend a BIS board meeting duri

Foreign currency deposits at banks in South Korea grew in May due to increased corporate savings, central bank data showed Wednesday. Residents' outstanding foreign currency-denominated deposits reached $89.17 billion as of end-May, up $2.18 billion from the previous month, according to the data from the Bank of Korea (BOK). Residents include local citizens, companies, foreigners staying here for more than six months and foreign firms. The data excludes interbank foreign currency deposits.

The number of babies born in South Korea fell to a record low in April amid the chronically low birthrate, while that of deaths hit an all-time high due to rapid aging and the COVID-19 pandemic, data showed Wednesday. A total of 21,124 babies were born in April, down 7 percent from the previous year, according to the data from Statistics Korea. It marked the lowest for any April since 1981, when the statistics agency started compiling related data. South Korea is struggling with a chronic declin

Internet-only bank Toss Bank said Tuesday that it will sell stocks to raise 100 billion won ($77.2 million) to fund business expansion. In a regulatory filing, the company said it will issue a total of 15 million common shares and 5 million convertible stocks at a price of 5,000 won per share. With the stock offerings, Toss Bank's total paid-in capital will amount to 950 billion won. Since its launch, Toss Bank has sold stocks worth 600 billion won to beef up its capital base. Launched in 2

Seoul shares opened lower Wednesday despite Wall Street's overnight rebound, as investor sentiment remained fragile amid bold monetary tightening in major economies and fears about a recession. The Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) fell 8.71 points, or 0.36 percent, to 2,400.22 in the first 15 minutes of trading. Wall Street made a comeback overnight, following a brutal week in the wake of the US Federal Reserve's rate hike of 0.75 percent, its steepest increase since 1994, to

Ahead of July rate decision, BOK warns annual inflation could hit 14-year high

South Korean stocks rebounded Tuesday from a fresh 19-month low the previous session on bargain hunting amid lingering concerns over high inflation and a global economic slowdown. The local currency fell against the US dollar. After a choppy session, the Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) added 17.90 points, or 0.75 percent, to close at 2,408.93. The gain came after the index tumbled 2.04 percent to the lowest level since November 2020. Trading volume was a bit slim at 468.76 million shar

SEJONG -- The Yoon Suk-yeol administration on Tuesday unveiled the first batch of its real estate measures that offer lowering tax burdens for first-time homeowners and expanding tax deductions for tenants, taking the first step to realize its campaign pledge to “normalize” the housing market. The government will come up with detailed measures for the supply of 2.5 million homes and more no later than August.　 At a joint briefing, First Vice Minister of Economy and Finance Bang Ki

South Korea’s cryptocurrency-related stocks have been nosediving in recent weeks, weighed down by the growing liquidity crisis in the global virtual currency market, data showed Tuesday. According to the nation’s sole bourse operator Korea Exchange, Vidente, the largest shareholder of Bithumb Holdings and the company behind one of top crypto exchanges here, nearly halved from the beginning of the year to close at 8,910 won ($6.89) on the secondary bourse Kosdaq on Tuesday. It traded