By Kim Kyoungwha and Judy Chen
July 31 (Bloomberg) -- South Korea's won strengthened for the first time in three days on speculation the central bank bought the currency to stem its slide.
The Korean won has declined 7.4 percent this year, the second-worst performer among 10 most-active regional currencies outside of Japan, as record oil prices worsened the nation's trade balance and sapped economic growth. Manufacturers' confidence for August fell to the lowest level in more than three years, a central bank report showed today.
``The market received a number of orders suspected to be coming from the authorities as the dollar keeps rising,'' said Ko Yun Jin, a currency dealer with Kookmin Bank in Seoul. ``The dollar's upside appears to be capped now.''
The currency climbed 0.28 percent to 1,010.85 against the dollar as of 9:40 a.m. in Seoul, according to Seoul Money Brokerage Services Ltd. It is heading for a 3.5 percent gain this month, the biggest advance since January 2006.
An index measuring expectations for August dropped to 74 from 77 the previous month, according to a survey of 1,486 manufacturers released by the Bank of Korea in Seoul today. That's the weakest reading since February 2005. A score lower than 100 means pessimists outnumber optimists.
The won will move between 1,010 and 1,020 for the day, Ko said.
To contact the reporters on this story: Kim Kyoungwha in Beijing at kkim19@bloomberg.net; Judy Chen in Shanghai at xchen45@bloomberg.net
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