2009.01.0600:00:00UTC+00South Korean Won Rises To 4-Day High Versus Japanese Yen

Tuesday, the South Korean won edged up against its US and Japanese counterparts as a gain in the local stocks prompted investors to increase the purchase of local equities. The won rose to a 4-day high against the Japanese yen and climbed from a 4-day low against its US counterpart.

At 8.32 P.M. ET, the benchmark Korea Composite Stock price Index was advancing 28.23 points, or 2.41%, to 1,201.80.

Among economic news, South Korea will announce foreign reserves and household debt numbers for December, as well as money supply data for November. Foreign reserves for December are expected to come in at $198.05 billion, down from $200.51 billion in November. Household debt was 386.9 trillion won in the previous month. Money supply is expected to add 10.9% on year following the 11.5% annual increase a month earlier.

The South Korean Won advanced to a 4-day high of 14.005 against its Japanese counterpart during Tuesday's early Asian trading. This may be compared to Monday's closing value of 14.0605. On the upside, the South Korean currency may likely target the 13.886 level against the Japanese unit.

Japan's monetary base was up 1.8 percent on year in December, the Bank of Japan said today, standing at 92.435 trillion yen. That follows a 1.9 percent annual increase in November to 88.85 trillion yen.

The South Korean Won started ticking up after falling to a 4-day low of 1327.85 against the US dollar by about 7:05 pm ET Monday. As of now, the pair is trading at 1312.65, compared to Monday's closing value of 1313.70.

The won was the worst performer among the Asian currencies last year loosing around 38% against the dollar.

The US pending home sales, ISM non-manufacturing composite index and the factory orders report are slated for release in the New York session today. At 2:00 pm ET, minutes of the FOMC's December 16th meeting will be made public. While announcing an interest rate cut in the range of 0%-0.25% at its December meeting, the FOMC noted that the outlook for economic activity has weakened further.

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