The South Korean won fell against the dollar for the second consecutive day Wednesday as disappointing trade data from China raised the alarm about the state of the world's second largest economy.
The won lost 0.79 percent to 1216.2 per dollar Wednesday from its previous close of 1,206.7 on increased dollar demand from offshore traders.
Traders said the local currency came under pressure on renewed concerns about the slowing Chinese economy as figures pointed to the worst monthly collapse in Chinese exports since 2009.
The won's weakness was limited as traders remained cautious ahead of the central bank's monetary policy meeting Thursday. A majority of analysts expect the base rate will remain unchanged at their record low of 1.5 percent in the meeting, though many see a rate cut by next month.
Trade figures out of China Tuesday showed both imports and exports falling in February as China’s demand for commodities such as crude oil, iron ore and copper fell and weaker global demand dragged on exports of manufactured goods.
China's exports fell 25.4 percent in February from a year earlier, the worst one-month decline since early 2009 and down from an 11.2 percent drop in January. Imports fell 13.8 percent, trimming losses after an 18.8 percent fall in January.
China is South Korea’s biggest export market.
By Alex Lee
reporter
Park Sae-jin
swatchsjp@ajunews.com
