Hooyeon Kim

South Korea plans to issue up to 222.8 trillion won ($162.7 billion) of bonds in 2027, a total near this year’s record, as President Lee Jae Myung pushes his expansionary fiscal agenda.

South Korea’s foreign-exchange reserves rose by a record $14.33 billion in August, driven by a jump in commercial banks’ foreign-currency deposits at the central bank.

The won’s recent weakness may be short lived as South Korea’s chip sector bolsters growth, supporting the currency’s recovery against the dollar by year-end, according to a Citigroup Inc. trader.

JPMorgan Chase & Co. sees upside risk to its already above-consensus forecast for South Korean interest rates if semiconductor-driven growth stokes stronger inflation, as long as credit and financial markets remain stable.

South Korea’s central bank began testing a system for round-the-clock won payments, laying the groundwork for greater foreign access to local markets that is set to be implemented next year.

South Korea’s three-year yield rose to the highest level since November 2022 as the local bond market reopened after holidays, joining a global selloff as elevated oil prices stoked concern over inflation.

Nomura is turning more bullish on South Korean bonds, raising its conviction level on receiving a 5-year Korea non-deliverable interest-rate swap position starting in 2027.

A rally in South Korean bonds may prove fleeting as the effect of government-led measures to quell volatility fades and expectations of further monetary policy tightening build, according to strategists.

South Korea’s won jumped to a two-year high on Monday, supported by lower oil prices and heavy dollar selling by local companies.

The Taiwan dollar and South Korean won led losses among Asian currencies in early trading as an overnight slump in Wall Street semiconductor shares spilled into regional markets, dampening demand for artificial intelligence supply-chain plays.