Korean Won Close to Decade Low Again

South Korean wonThe South Korean won continued its decline against the U.S. dollar today despite the other Asian stocks rebound caused by the U.S. government’s intentions to bail-out Citigroup.

The won almost renewed its decade low level, set on November 20th, and extended its monthly drop against the greenback today. The currency lost 38 percent this year and is currently the worst-performing one among the 16 most-traded world currencies.

There are speculations on the equity and Forex market that South Korea will soon enter the worst recession since 1998. The banks expect that almost half of the country’s biggest construction companies will have to search for the liquidity support this year.

USD/KRW rose from 1493.2 to 1513.0 as of 6:00 GMT today, reaching the daily maximum at 1515.5, which is slightly below the record high level of 1515.9 set on November 20th.