SEOUL, Jan. 14 — South Korea’s foreign exchange trading fell in the fourth quarter of 2025 due to weaker demand for the U.S. currency, central bank data showed Wednesday.
The daily average transaction of foreign currencies and derivatives in the domestic inter-bank market declined 2.69 billion U.S. dollars from three months earlier to 39.15 billion dollars in the October-December quarter, according to the Bank of Korea (BOK).
It was affected by lower demand for the U.S. currency, of which the daily average trading shrank 2.65 billion dollars.
The daily average transaction of the Chinese currency slipped 1 billion dollars in the cited quarter.
Demand for FX swaps added 0.72 billion dollars over the quarter to 18.94 billion dollars in the fourth quarter, while the transaction of other derivatives, including currency swaps and options, was up 0.09 billion dollars to 2.62 billion dollars.
The daily average volatility in the South Korean won versus U.S. dollar exchange rate edged down to 0.36 percent in December 2025 from 0.37 percent in the previous month.
The won versus dollar exchange rate retreated to 1,439 won per dollar at the end of December from 1,470.6 won a month earlier.
Premium on credit default swap, which gauges credit risk for five-year government bonds, averaged 22 basis points in December, down from 23 basis points a month ago. (Namibia Daily News/Xinhua)
