Yesterday's news of the brief imposition of martial law in South Korea came as a shock. Korean currency and asset markets play a significant role in the investment universe, where the Korean won is the 12th most traded currency in the world (BIS 2022) and its government bonds make up 9-10% of emerging market local currency bond indices. Indeed, Korea recently celebrated its inclusion into the FTSE Russell's World Government Bond Index. Global investors will therefore be closely monitoring developments in Korea over the coming days, ING’s FX analysts Chirs Turner notes.
DXY to find good buying interest under 106.00
“USD strength is not entirely being led by the second coming of Donald Trump. A lame duck government in Germany and potentially France too today if a no-confidence vote is successful, plus this Korean news, will only add to confidence that the relatively high rates (USD one-week deposit rates at 4.6%) and liquidity make the dollar the most compelling currency in which to park cash balances right now. Yes, there is the risk that US macro data softens a little and can drag the dollar a little softer, but taking defensive positions in something like the Japanese yen (deposit rate at 0.11%) or Swiss franc (0.86%) can be expensive.”
“In focus for the US today is ADP employment data (1415CET) and ISM Services (16CET). The ADP number has been discredited this year, but the ISM services number occasionally moves markets. There seems no reason to see a sharp fall here and actually the JOLTS job opening data we discussed yesterday came in better than expected.”
“Perhaps more interesting today will be Fed communication. Fed Chair Jerome Powell speaks in a moderated New York Times discussion at 1940CET. And the Fed's Beige Book is released at 2000CET. Both can provide a little colour ahead of the FOMC meeting on 18 December, where the Fed looks minded to ease policy. A 25bp cut is not fully priced and softer short-dated US rates could drag the dollar a little softer. Yet there are plenty of reasons to suspect the Dollar Index will find good buying interest under 106.00.”
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