The South Korean won touched a five-week low against the dollar on Wednesday as worries about the global credit crunch and economic slowdown hit local shares, and on dollar demand from importers for settlements.

The foreign exchange authorities were not seen intervening to support the currency yet, but investors remained wary of possible dollar sales by authorities to prop up the won, limiting its falls.

The local currency was quoted at 1,037.2/7.6 per dollar as of 0311 GMT, compared with Tuesday’s domestic close of 1,034.7

It fell to as low as 1,038.3, the weakest since July 8.

“Many players are building up dollar-long positions amid refiners’ dollar demand. But we need to be more careful of intervention,” said a foreign bank dealer.

South Korean shares were down 1.25 percent while foreign investors bought a net 35 billion won worth of stocks in the country’s main exchange.

0311 GMT 0037 GMT prev close

Won 1,037.2/7.6 1,037.9/8.4 1,034.7

Yen/won 9.5480/60 9.5143/98 9.3884/37

KOSPI 1,557.42 1,575.28 1,577.12

Source: http://www.afxnews.com

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