South Korea confirms 334 new coronavirus cases, total count at 1595, risk-off persists

Dhwani Mehta FXStreet

According to the latest data published by the Korea Center for Disease Control and Prevention (KCDC) on Thursday, the number of coronavirus cases in the country has risen to 1595, with 334 more cases confirmed.

Meanwhile, Yonhap reported that the US and South have decided to postpone the joint drills. Also, the US urged reconsidering travel to South Korea due to the coronavirus risks.

Separately, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) confirmed the first US coronavirus case of unknown origin. The new coronavirus case does not have ties to a known outbreak. The case is 15th in the US and was picked up by doctors.

Risk-off remains in vogue

With the coronavirus fears prevalent across the financial markets so far this Thursday, investors remain cautious and keep the demand for the safe-havens such as the yen and gold intact at the expense of the riskier assets, namely, Asian equities and S&P 500 futures.

USD/JPY is off the lows but still weaker around 110.35, having found some support from gains in the US Treasury yields.

Meanwhile, the Korean won (KRW) witnessed wild moves on a surprise rates on-hold decision by the Bank of Korea (BOK) earlier today. The USD/KRW pair fell to 1,210.08 lows in a knee-jerk reaction to the policy decision before quickly reversing sharply to 1,217.09 highs.

At the press time, the cross trades +0.32% at 1,216.20.

Author

Dhwani Mehta

FXStreet

Residing in Mumbai (India), Dhwani is a Senior Analyst and Manager of the Asian session at FXStreet. She has over 10 years of experience in analyzing and covering the global financial markets, with specialization in Forex and commodities markets.

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