Seoul sold net $3.8b to intervene in currency

Bloomberg

South Korean authorities sold a net $3.8 billion in the first six months of the year to intervene in the currency market, compared with $187 million in the second half of 2018, according to central bank data.
“It is now confirmed that the authorities constantly conducted smoothing operations during the second quarter when the won weakened rapidly,” said Min Gyeong-won, an economist at Woori Bank in Seoul. The data may prompt offshore traders to position against the won less aggressively as they become more mindful of the authorities’ intervention, he added.
The South Korean won weakened 3.7 percent against the dollar in the first half of the year, the worst performance among Asian currencies.
It climbed 0.3 percent to 1,196.25 per dollar on Monday.