Korean won falls to 4th-lowest monthly level amid foreign outflows

The Korean currency has fallen sharply to its fourth-lowest level against the U.S. dollar in March amid a foreign selloff on the stock market, financial data showed Sunday. The won averaged 1,489.3 won per dollar through the first 27 days of March based on the daily won-dollar rate quoted at 3:30 p.m., according to data from the Bank of Korea and Yonhap Infomax. It marked the fourth-lowest monthly average on record, following 1,499.38 won in December 1997, 1,701.53 won in January 1998 and 1,626.75 won in December 1998, in the aftermath of the Asian financial crisis in 1997. On a weekly basis, the average won-dollar rate was 1,503.4 won for last week, breaching the 1,500 won threshold for the first time in 17 years, since the second week of March 2009. By percentage, the won fell 4.72 percent against the U.S. dollar in the first 28 days of March, marking the steepest monthly decline among major currencies. The U.S. Dollar Index, a widely used measure of the U.S. dollar's strength against a basket of six leading currencies, including the euro and Japanese yen, rose 2.6 percent over the same

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