BLBG: South Korean Won Rises to 13-Month High; Bonds Little Changed
By Bob Chen
Nov. 10 (Bloomberg) -- South Korea’s won traded near a 13- month high after the Group of 20 nations agreed to maintain economic stimulus measures, bolstering demand for Asian exports and spurring appetite for emerging-market assets.
Foreign investors bought more Korean shares than they sold for a third day, driving the Kospi index to its best close this month. Japan today reported an unexpected widening of its current-account surplus for September as stimulus spending helped damp a slump in the nation’s overseas sales. European Central Bank President Jean-Claude Trichet, speaking on behalf of the world’s central bankers, said yesterday the global economy is recovering a little faster than expected.
“Increasingly the outlook for risk is very good,” said Wai Ho Leong, a regional economist in Singapore at Barclays Plc. “Japan’s current-account surplus helps the perception of Asia’s recovery story and deepens it somewhat. The question is where you should invest in Asia, and Korea and Taiwan come off as strong cyclical recovery stories.”
The won traded at 1,162 per dollar as of the 3 p.m. close in Seoul, from 1,160.8 yesterday, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. It touched 1,154.80, the strongest level since September 2008. Leong forecast the currency will reach 1,150 in a month and 1,135 by early February. The Kospi advanced 0.4 percent to 1,582.30.
U.K. Chancellor of the Exchequer Alistair Darling, hosting a meeting of finance ministers from G-20 nations, said Nov. 7 that he and his counterparts “agreed to maintain support for the recovery until it is assured.”
Japan’s current-account surplus rose 0.2 percent from a year earlier to 1.57 trillion yen ($17.5 billion) in September, the finance ministry reported today. The median estimate of 22 economists surveyed by Bloomberg was for the gap to narrow to 1.51 trillion yen. A separate survey forecast China’s exports fell at the slowest pace this year in October, before data to be released tomorrow.
South Korea’s government bonds were little changed. The yield on the 4 percent note due June 2012 was 4.48 percent, according to Korea Stock Exchange.
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