Korean won rises most in a month as U.S. jobs data weakens dollar

South Korea’s won rose the most in a month as below-forecast U.S. jobs data weighed on the dollar.

The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index, which tracks the greenback against 10 major currencies, posted its biggest loss in three weeks on Nov. 7 after the U.S. labor department said employers added 214,000 workers in October.

That was less than the 235,000 estimated in a Bloomberg survey. Bank of Korea Governor Lee Ju-yeol said last week that while authorities face constraints in dealing with a weakening yen, the central bank “isn’t doing nothing” on the issue.

The won snapped a seven-day decline, strengthening 0.6 percent to 1,086.90 per dollar as of 9:55 a.m. in Seoul, according to prices compiled by Bloomberg. That’s the biggest gain since Oct. 9. Against the yen, it rose 0.4 percent to 9.50 after reaching a six-year high of 9.39 on Nov. 3.

At closing, the U.S. dollar ended at 1,085.0 won down from the 1,093.7 won in the previous trading day.

“The unexpected weakness in U.S. data triggered a correction in the greenback and the dollar-won rate,” Son Eun-jeong, Seoul-based currency analyst at Woori Futures, said in a research note. (Yonhap)