The daily volatility of the South Korean currency fell to the lowest in three quarters in the July-September period on eased concerns over the Federal Reserve's monetary stimulus tapering, the central bank said Monday.
The average daily volatility of the local currency reached 5.3 won in the third quarter, compared with 6.6 won three months earlier, according to the Bank of Korea (BOK).
The third-quarter data marked the lowest volatility since 2.9 won in the fourth quarter of last year.
The on-day currency volatility hit 4.2 won in the cited period, the lowest since 4 won in the first quarter.
The global financial markets had undergone sharp gyration since Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke said in late June that the U.S. central bank may begin to scale back its US$85 billion monthly bond purchases later in the year. Trumping market expectations, the Fed announced in September its decision to delay the tapering of its quantitative easing steps.
The won showed the sixth-lowest volatility in the third quarter among 15 peers among currencies of the Group of 20 economies by posting 0.37 percent in on-day currency volatility, the BOK said.
South Korea has been differentiating itself from some emerging countries such as India and Indonesia, which are struggling to curb massive cross-border capital outflows and sharp currency depreciation, hit by the speculation over the Fed's tapering.
Brazil's daily currency volatility reached 0.85 percent, followed by India with 0.79 percent and South Africa with 0.75 percent, the BOK said. Indonesia saw its daily currency fluctuation hit 0.63 percent last quarter.
The Korean won appreciated 6.3 percent to the U.S. dollar in the third quarter compared with three months earlier as foreign capital was flowing into Asia's fourth-largest economy.
Meanwhile, South Korean banks' daily foreign exchange trading volume declined in the third quarter amid eased currency volatility, the BOK said.
The daily foreign exchange trading volume among banks averaged $19.14 billion in the third quarter, down 13 percent from three months earlier.
The third-quarter data marked the smallest volume since $18.42 billion in the third quarter of 2010, the BOK added. (Yonhap News)
