Korean Won Advances for First Day in Seven on Exporter Demand

By Kim Kyoungwha

Nov. 19 (Bloomberg) -- South Korea's won rose, snapping a six-day losing streak, on speculation exporters are taking advantage of dollar gains to repatriate overseas income.

The Korean currency fell 8 percent versus the dollar since Nov. 10, extending this year's slide to 35 percent, as the onset of a global recession prompted overseas investors to cut their holdings of emerging-market assets. The Kospi index fell for a seventh day as global funds dumped more Korean shares than they bought, according to Korea Exchange.

``Exporters are offloading some dollars on a perception that the greenback may have hit a short-term peak,'' said Jo Hyun Suk, a currency dealer with Korea Exchange Bank in Seoul. ``There's steady demand for fund remittances from foreign investors which may reverse the won's course.''

The won rose 0.5 percent to 1,440.50 per dollar at 9:52 a.m. in Seoul, according to Seoul Money Brokerage Services Ltd.

The U.S., Europe and Japan are already in recession and the International Monetary Fund this month forecast global economic growth will slow to 2.2 percent next year from an estimated 3.7 percent in 2008. The fund has said that expansion of 3 percent or less is ``equivalent to a global recession.''

South Korea's government revised its forecast for the nation's 2009 trade balance to a $5.6 billion deficit from a $1.2 billion surplus, Yonhap News reported today, citing a document submitted to parliament. Its projection for consumer spending growth was cut to 2.5 percent from 4.5 percent.

To contact the reporters on this story: Kim Kyoungwha in Beijing at kkim19@bloomberg.net.