Seoul, July 5 (IANS) The South Korean won has fallen nearly 6 per cent against the US dollar this year, central bank data showed on Sunday, as foreign investors sold off more than 156 trillion won ($102.3 billion) worth of domestic stocks.

The average exchange rate stood at 1,484.56 won per dollar during the first half of the year, according to the Bank of Korea’s Economic Statistics System.

It marked the second-highest first-half average on record, behind 1,493.08 won in the first half of 1998 during the Asian financial crisis, reports Yonhap news agency.

The exchange rate climbed above the 1,500-won level in March for the first time since the global financial crisis, following the outbreak of conflict in the Middle East.

Although it briefly retreated to the low 1,400-won range, it rebounded above 1,500 won in mid-May and has remained above this level ever since.

The broad weakness of the won this year has made it one of the worst-performing major currencies.

The Korean currency won had depreciated 5.92 percent against the dollar on July 3, compared with the end of last year, according to Yonhap Infomax, the financial arm of Yonhap News Agency.

Among Group of 20 currencies, only the Turkish lira (-8.23 percent) and the Indonesian rupiah (-6.56 percent) posted larger declines.

A key factor behind the won’s weakness has been heavy foreign selling of South Korean equities.

From the beginning of the year through July 3, foreign investors sold a net 156.56 trillion won worth of shares on the benchmark KOSPI market.

That figure is more than five times larger than the 34.58 trillion won in net foreign selling recorded during all of 2008, the year of the global financial crisis.

—IANS

na/