Dollar strengthens against Korean won on strong U.S. jobs report

Dollar strengthens against Korean won on strong U.S. jobs report [Photo by Lee Seung-hwan]

The foreign exchange market opened Monday at 1,247.5 won, up by nearly 20 won ($0.02) as the greenback strengthened against major currencies on strong employment data in the U.S. last week.

The dollar surged after data showed that more jobs were added in January than economists expected in the U.S., potentially giving the Federal Reserve more leeway to keep raising interest rates.

The U.S. Labor Department said that the economy added 517,000 nonfarm payrolls last month, which is close to three times the market forecast of 187,000 and twice the increase of 260,000 in December last year. The unemployment rate was 3.4 percent, down 0.1 percentage point from 3.5 percent in the previous month, a low not seen since May 1969.

The won-yen arbitrage exchange rate at 9:30 am was 943.76 won per 100 yen, down by 11.89 won from the previous trade.