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Swampfox10mm
Joined: 24 Mar 2011
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Hokie21
Joined: 01 Mar 2011
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 Posted: Thu May 17, 2012 6:16 pm Post subject: |
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Did some googling...a few quotes from articles within the past 3 weeks.
"South Korean won climbed today, along with other Asian currencies, as signs of the economic growth in China and the United States improved outlook for exports of the Asian nation."
"The signs of economic growth caused speculation that demand for exports from South Korea would grow. The nation�s economy definitely needs help as inflation slowed below the median forecast of 2.8 percent to 2.1 percent in April. That was the lowest level in 21 months. The Ministry of Finance assured that it would take measures to boost economic growth."
"The South Korean won climbed today as nation�s manufacturer confidence jumped to the nine-month high and hopes for growth of the US economy boosted prospects for higher-yielding assets of emerging markets."
"The Bank of Korea reported that the index of South Korean manufacturers� outlook for May climbed to 90 from 85 for April, reaching the highest level since August 2011. The index for non-manufacturing sector expectations was up from 82 to 85. The won also gained as the growing US economy is expected boost demand for exports from emerging markets" |
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Son Deureo!
Joined: 30 Apr 2003
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| Posted: Thu May 17, 2012 6:55 pm Post subject: |
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| The chart in your link does not show the won going up, it shows it going DOWN. Last month W1135 bought $1USD, this month it takes W1165 to buy that same dollar which means the won has gotten weaker vs. the dollar in the past month. |
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matty022
Joined: 05 Mar 2012
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| Posted: Thu May 17, 2012 7:35 pm Post subject: |
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| Son Deureo! wrote: |
| The chart in your link does not show the won going up, it shows it going DOWN. Last month W1135 bought $1USD, this month it takes W1165 to buy that same dollar which means the won has gotten weaker vs. the dollar in the past month. |
Yeah this was what I was thinking. There's a widget for Windows 7 for those of you who have it that shows currency exchange rates in real time. I've seen it change several times in a single day. Pretty cool for keeping some kind of idea of where they each stand. |
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ajosshi
Joined: 17 Jan 2011
Location: ajosshi.com
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| Posted: Thu May 17, 2012 7:37 pm Post subject: |
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NOW: USD-KRW 1,174.0800
52 Wk. High: 1,221.2500
52 Wk. Low: 1,046.6500
edit: Here's some perspective--
2.2 mil = $1,874. At the 52 Wk. Low, it would have been $2,103
3 mil = $2,555. At the 52 Wk. Low, it would have been $2,868
Everyone has taken an 11% pay cut.
Last edited by ajosshi on Thu May 17, 2012 8:50 pm; edited 1 time in total |
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Zyzyfer
Joined: 29 Jan 2003
Location: who, what, where, when, why, how?
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| Posted: Thu May 17, 2012 8:08 pm Post subject: |
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| I've noticed as well. Can't figure out what it's tied to from what I've read, all the bad news that's out right now is bad globally rather than locally. |
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cincynate
Joined: 07 Jul 2009
Location: Jeju-do, South Korea
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| Posted: Thu May 17, 2012 8:59 pm Post subject: |
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| Quote: |
Everyone has taken an 11% pay cut.
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Only if you send 100% of your money home.
The prices here fluctuate with the won, as Korea is a major importer.. And I think most people spend at least 1/2 of their salary in Korea. |
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tideout
Joined: 12 Dec 2010
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| Posted: Thu May 17, 2012 9:03 pm Post subject: |
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Yeah, the Won sucks for the most part.
If you go to OANDA and do historical charts and plug in the last 2 years the Won is down from 1125/$1 to the 1160 range. If you plug in the last 10 years it's even worse - the avg for the previous 10 years was the 1100 Won/ $1 mark.
I'm surprised sometimes more people don't mention the degraded paycheck. Another reason to move on IMHO.
A lot of this has to do with general, global economic problems but I think currently it's tied to the anxiety about Greece and the future of the Euro.
I suppose I could say it's all related also!  |
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atwood
Joined: 26 Dec 2009
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| Posted: Thu May 17, 2012 9:54 pm Post subject: |
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| It's about Europe. Countries there are going into double-dip recession, there's fear of a run on the banks in Greece, etc. That means Korea won't be able to export as many goods to the EU. China's economy is slowing too. |
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tideout
Joined: 12 Dec 2010
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| Posted: Thu May 17, 2012 10:44 pm Post subject: |
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| atwood wrote: |
| It's about Europe. Countries there are going into double-dip recession, there's fear of a run on the banks in Greece, etc. That means Korea won't be able to export as many goods to the EU. China's economy is slowing too. |
Yeah, I think the last figure I saw on China growth was "down" to 7.5% growth. That sounds pretty good until you read that China's structured or geared up for double that in growth.
SK had something like 340,000 jobs in April? The US had something like 160,000. Growth here but, at least recently, the Won sucks.
"Re-elections" next month in Greece and no doubt there will be some deal making going on. I'm sort of holding out for a "correction" in the Won before my contract ends in August. |
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Zyzyfer
Joined: 29 Jan 2003
Location: who, what, where, when, why, how?
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| Posted: Thu May 17, 2012 10:54 pm Post subject: |
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I'd like to say it's about Europe but that should really be hitting the dollar as well, no? Unless the won is tied to the euro rather than the dollar.
Inflation isn't insane. I haven't read anything particularly shocking in the Korean news. Well, there is one thing, household debt is quite high. And wasn't foreign investment on the upswing recently? The won has dived this week and parts of last week, but it was pretty steady prior, swinging between 1120 and 1130 regularly.
Ah, one other idea. A few savings banks were targeted last week due to lack of capital and had business suspended to avoid capital flight. Maybe that has something to do with it? |
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tideout
Joined: 12 Dec 2010
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| Posted: Thu May 17, 2012 11:16 pm Post subject: |
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| Zyzyfer wrote: |
I'd like to say it's about Europe but that should really be hitting the dollar as well, no? Unless the won is tied to the euro rather than the dollar.
Inflation isn't insane. I haven't read anything particularly shocking in the Korean news. Well, there is one thing, household debt is quite high. And wasn't foreign investment on the upswing recently? The won has dived this week and parts of last week, but it was pretty steady prior, swinging between 1120 and 1130 regularly.
Ah, one other idea. A few savings banks were targeted last week due to lack of capital and had business suspended to avoid capital flight. Maybe that has something to do with it? |
I forgot about the banks being shutdown. I actually saw quite a line outside of one Korean bank last week.
As was mentioned, I think it's not "tied to" the euro or the dollar per se but tied to exports.
Then instability and volatility of the global market leads to a weak Won as investors look to other safer places to put their money - options that are not tied to consumption in countries buying goods from SK.
The Won is pretty directly fiddled with when the SK government and Banks buy up a lot of $US as well. |
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KimchiNinja
Joined: 01 May 2012
Location: Gangnam
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| Posted: Thu May 17, 2012 11:42 pm Post subject: |
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| ajosshi wrote: |
| Everyone has taken an 11% pay cut. |
Nope, I call the home office and tell them to adjust my salary, keep it neutral in USD, which means I can buy more here in KR.  |
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motiontodismiss
Joined: 18 Dec 2011
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| Posted: Thu May 17, 2012 11:45 pm Post subject: |
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| tideout wrote: |
Then instability and volatility of the global market leads to a weak Won as investors look to other safer places to put their money - options that are not tied to consumption in countries buying goods from SK.
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Exactly. The domestic economy here is on the brink of collapse. The household debt problem, the real estate bubble, soaring cost of living....all of these problems are going to burst at one point and basically that'll be the end of the Korean economy. The country relys too heavily on exports. Seriously. |
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KimchiNinja
Joined: 01 May 2012
Location: Gangnam
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| Posted: Thu May 17, 2012 11:51 pm Post subject: |
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| motiontodismiss wrote: |
Exactly. The domestic economy here is on the brink of collapse. The household debt problem, the real estate bubble, soaring cost of living....all of these problems are going to burst at one point and basically that'll be the end of the Korean economy. The country relys too heavily on exports. Seriously. |
That's your economic analysis? |
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