Meanwhile oil prices and the won-dollar exchange rate climbed
A composite image of US President Donald Trump and a map showing the Strait of Hormuz. (Yonhap)
After US President Donald Trump delivered a televised address at 10 am Thursday Korea time (8 pm Wednesday Washington time), international oil prices and the won-dollar exchange rate rose sharply while the benchmark KOSPI index swooned, erasing upward momentum early in the day’s trading. The volatility was apparently driven by Trump’s threat to “hit [Iran] extremely hard over the next two to three weeks.”As of 10:40 am, just after Trump’s address, the KOSPI had moved into negative territory, plunging 2.7% from the previous day to 5,329.62 points. The index started the day rising 72.99 points to 5,551.69, up 1.3% from the day before. But that upward momentum vanished in the middle of Trump’s speech. Around the same time, the US dollar was trading at 1,520.20 won in Seoul’s forex market. The won-dollar rate had jumped 19 won from the previous day’s closing rate (1,501.3 won). The rate had hovered around 1,506.7 at the beginning of the day before soaring upward while Trump was making his remarks.International oil prices jumped to around US$100 a barrel just after Trump’s speech, after West Texas Intermediate and Brent crude had been trading at US$98 and $99, respectively, before his speech. As of 10:48 am, WTI had risen to US$103.79, while Brent was up to US$103.79 per barrel. In his speech, Trump announced that the US’ “core objectives are nearing completion” in Iran, while also striking a hawkish tone by vowing to “hit them extremely hard over the next two to three weeks.”The KOSPI closed trading on Thursday at 5,234.05, down 4.47%. By Cho Kye-wan, senior staff writerPlease direct questions or comments to [english@hani.co.kr]
