Sharpest Rise in Asia
According to industry sources such as Capital Economics, the value of the South Korean won with respect to the U.S. dollar increased by no less than 8.15% in March this year to show the highest degree of appreciation among all Asian currencies.
It was followed by the Malaysian ringgit (7.97%), the Singapore dollar (4.32%), the Taiwan dollar (3.44%), the Philippine peso (3.16%) and the Indian rupee (2.94%).
Capital Economics explained that the rapid appreciation of the Asian currencies was because market sentiments improved based on a lower probability of the depreciation of the Chinese yuan and the Fed meeting in March turned out to be more dovish than expected.
In the meantime, KDB Daewoo Securities research analyst Seo Dae-il said in his recent report that the South Korean won’s fluctuations at the beginning of this year was because the currency is representative of the risk of recessions of emerging economies and the rapid appreciation of the won in March can be attributed to a recovery of the prices of risky assets that followed a delay in an interest rate hike by the Fed and reduced risks of emerging market recessions.