S. Korea to receive US$4 bln from U.S. in currency swap

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SEOUL, Nov. 27 (Yonhap) -- South Korea's central bank said Thursday that it will receive US$4 billion from the U.S. Federal Reserve through a currency swap agreement to provide the greenback to dollar-starved local banks.
The money to be provided on next Tuesday through an auction is part of a currency
swap deal forged last month, in which the Fed will provide up to $30 billion to
the Bank of Korea.
The agreement will be effective until April 30 of next year.
The local currency has lost more than 38 percent against the dollar so far this
year as foreign investors continued to pull money out of the local stock market
due to global financial turmoil and a widening current account shortfall.
"The move will help ease dollar shortages at local banks, and help ease market
jitters as well," a central bank official said.
The won opened at 1,480 to the dollar, down 1.9 won from the previous session's
close.
South Korea is also seeking to expand similar deals with China and Japan to help
stabilize the local currency market.
South Korea posted a record current account surplus in October, which may help
ease downward pressure on the already-weak won, the central bank said.
sam@yna.co.kr
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