The South Korean currency fell sharply to its weakest level in 17 years against the U.S. dollar Thursday amid intensifying tensions in the Middle East and the subsequent surge in global oil prices.
The won was quoted at 1,501 won per dollar, down 17.9 won from the previous session, marking the lowest level since March 10, 2009, when the won hit 1,511.1 during the global financial crisis.
The foreign exchange and stock markets have shown heightened volatility since the beginning of this month following the U.S.-Israeli attacks on Iran. On Monday, the won touched the 1,500-won level for the first time since March 2009 in intraday trading.
The weakness came as global oil prices rose more than 5 percent on Wednesday (U.S. time), following Israel's attack on natural gas facilities linked to Iran's South Pars field, the world's largest gas field.
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