S. Korea's FX authorities warn against herd behavior amid excessive decline in local currency

he Korean won continues to depreciate against the U.S. dollar, posing yet another challenge to the Korean economy's recovery amid record-high inflation and other external risks.
The foreign exchange authorities are warning against herd behavior, a verbal intervention, saying they're prepared to take appropriate measures to stem the won's excessive depreciation.
Lee Ji-yoon has more.
On Thursday, the Korean won ended at 1-thousand-3-hundred-93-point-7 won against the greenback.
The won has been losing ground dramatically against the U.S. dollar as the latest inflation numbers in the U.S. suggest more outsized rate hikes by the Federal Reserve.
And with growing fears of a global recession, South Korea's foreign exchange authorities on Thursday said they are closely monitoring the currency market as volatility increases in the local currency.
South Korea's finance minister Choo Kyung-ho also addressed similar concerns.

"We're closely monitoring herd behavior in the foreign exchange market and will take appropriate measures to stabilize the market if necessary."

However, the minister said, there's no need for excessive anxiety.

"Although the won is sharply depreciating against the U.S. dollar, there's no need for excessive anxiety over this because we have been consulting with foreign experts while keeping a close eye on external indicators."

Many analysts have been urging the authorities to actively intervene, saying the Korean currency has already slid to a level that would do more harm than good to the South Korean economy.
And the heightened uncertainty has fueled concerns over whether the country holds an amount of foreign currency reserves sufficient to cover short-term foreign debt.
Lee Ji-yoon Arirang News.