Korean won ends 5-day rise vs dollar

SEOUL, Nov. 28 (Yonhap) -- South Korea's currency fell against the U.S. dollar Friday, ending its five-day advance as it tracked the Japanese yen's slide against the greenback and the country's weaker-than-expected industrial output last month indicated still murky economic recovery.

The Korean won was changing hands at 1,103.50 per dollar as of 11:00 a.m., down 5.1 won from the previous session's close.

The yen's fall against the dollar resumed in the Asian market as its recent ascent to the greenback was excessive, and expectations still run high over diverging monetary easing steps in the world's major economies, dealers said.

Japan's consumer prices rose 2.9 percent from a year earlier in October, slowing for a third straight month, the latest data underscoring Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's struggle against deflation in the world's third-largest economy.

The Korean won also came under selling pressure as industrial production in Asia's fourth-largest economy still remained weak. But its loss may be capped on end-month dollar selling by local exporters, they said.

The country's industrial output dropped 1.6 percent last month from a month earlier. Compared with a year earlier, it fell 3.2 percent.

"There are still end-month settlements by exporters coming into the market, which may provide some support to the won," said Kim Dae-hyung, an analyst at Eugene Investment & Futures Co.

The yen has lost ground against the dollar after the Bank of Japan earlier this month vowed to fight deflation.

More recently, the yen further weakened as Prime Minister Abe called for early elections and decided to push back a consumption tax hike scheduled for next year in order to support the world's third-largest economy.

The won-yen exchange rate stood at 933.76 as of 11:00 a.m., down 0.63 won from the previous session's close.

sam@yna.co.kr
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