FX.co ★ South Korean Won Halts Gains

The South Korean won weakened to around 1,514 per dollar, snapping its recent advance, as demand for the greenback strengthened amid cautious positioning ahead of the Federal Reserve’s policy decision. Market participants focused on potential signals from the FOMC under Fed Chair Kevin Warsh regarding the future policy trajectory, with lingering uncertainty keeping FX markets on the defensive. Broader risk-off sentiment—driven by weakness in global technology stocks and declines in US AI-related shares—bolstered safe-haven flows into the dollar and weighed on Asian currencies. The won also faced pressure from ongoing portfolio rebalancing and a softer regional risk appetite. Even so, expectations that the Bank of Korea will maintain a relatively tight policy stance helped curb the pace of losses, while authorities’ continued monitoring of foreign-exchange volatility offered additional support.