An employee arranges U.S. dollar bills and 50,000 won notes at a branch of Hana Bank in central Seoul, April 3. Yonhap
Korea's move to make the won-dollar foreign exchange market a virtually 24-hour trading schedule starting in July is raising concerns that it could leave the won more vulnerable to overnight swings when trading volumes are thin, according to industry analysts Sunday.
As part of a broader push to improve access for global investors across time zones, the Seoul Foreign Exchange Market Committee approved the change, Friday, extending trading hours from the current 9 a.m.-2 a.m. schedule on Seoul time to near round-the-clock trading beginning July 6.
The market will operate continuously throughout the workweek, closing only on weekends and New Year’s Day. Aligned with New York trading hours, it will run from 6 a.m. Monday to 6 a.m. Saturday during U.S. daylight saving time and from 7 a.m. Monday to 7 a.m. Saturday during the rest of the year.
The market is also set to begin publishing hourly Time-Weighted Average Prices, or TWAPs, for the won-dollar rate, based on quotes from foreign-exchange brokers collected around the top of each hour.
