Won-Dollar Exchange Rate Rebounds to 1,476.4 Won on Prolonged Iran Crisis Concerns

Oil Prices Surge Overnight After US Tanker Attack
Middle East Geopolitical Tensions Flare Up Again
Won-Dollar Rate Temporarily Tops 1,480

The won-dollar exchange rate closed higher in a single day as international oil prices surged due to concerns over the prolonged Iran crisis.

On the 6th, an employee is monitoring the stock market and exchange rates in the dealing room at the Shinhan Bank headquarters in Jung-gu, Seoul. Photo by Shinhan Bank

On March 6, the closing price for the week of the won-dollar exchange rate on the Seoul foreign exchange market (as of 3:30 p.m.) stood at 1,476.4 won, up 8.3 won from the previous trading day. Although the rate had settled in the 1,468 won range the previous day, having dropped by 8.1 won and suggesting a period of stabilization, tensions in the Middle East reignited and prompted a rebound within just one day.

The exchange rate opened at 1,479.0 won, up 10.9 won from the previous trading day, and rose to 1,480.8 won at around 9:43 a.m., but gradually pared losses to the 1,470 won range in the afternoon. During overnight trading, it even soared as high as 1,486.4 won at around 1:27 a.m.

This appears to be the result of international oil prices continuing to surge, with reports on the night of March 5 that Iran attacked a U.S. company’s oil tanker anchored outside the Strait of Hormuz in the Gulf (Persian Gulf), causing the West Texas Intermediate (WTI) price to surpass $80 per barrel. Dubai crude also soared to $89.31 per barrel, jumping about 10% from the previous session.

Although expectations for negotiations between the United States and Iran had risen as recently as the previous day, risk aversion increased again after Iranian authorities officially denied such prospects and both countries declared they would continue airstrikes. All three major indices on the New York Stock Exchange fell overnight: the Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 1.61%, the S&P 500 fell 0.56%, and the Nasdaq Composite Index declined 0.26%. The Dollar Index (DXY), which measures the value of the dollar against currencies of six major countries, rebounded to the 99 range around 3 p.m. and has maintained that level.

Additionally, foreign investors’ net selling of 1.9494 trillion won worth of domestic stocks on the Korean stock market that day appears to have had some impact.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.