SEOUL, Sept. 27 (Yonhap) -- The South Korean currency fell more than 12 percent to the U.S. dollar in September compared with two months ago on the global recovery woes, making it the worst performer among major 21 currencies, data showed Tuesday.
The Korean unit closed at 1,195.80 won per dollar on Monday, depreciating 12.1 percent compared with July 26, according to data by the Bank of Korea (BOK). The depth of the won's depreciation was the largest among major currencies.
In the cited period, the euro declined 6.3 percent to the dollar and British pound shed 5.2 percent to the greenback, data showed.
Currencies which depreciated more than 10 percent to the dollar were the Australian dollar, the New Zealand dollar and the Swiss franc. The Australian dollar lost 10.4 percent and the Swiss francs declined 11 percent per the dollar while the value of the New Zealand dollar declined 11.2 percent.
The local currency's sharp depreciation mainly came as the global recession fears and the eurozone debt crisis are prompting investors to shun risky assets.
Experts said the won's fall was also due to Korea's high degree of market openness and foreign capital moving in and out of the country relatively freely.
The won's weakness is likely to complicate the Korean government's efforts to combat inflation. A weaker won puts upward pressure on inflation as it makes prices of imported products more expensive.
South Korea's consumer prices jumped 5.3 percent in August from a year earlier, quickening from 4.7 percent on-year gain tallied in July.
Consumer inflation surpassed the upper limit of the BOK's 2-4 percent inflation target band for the eighth straight month.
According to a separate poll, Korean consumers in September forecast inflation to reach an annual average of 4.3 percent over the next 12 months, the highest in nearly 3 years.
