US Treasury keeps S. Korea on currency watch list, cites won weakness despite trade surplus

The Donald Trump administration kept South Korea on its currency monitoring list Thursday (local time).

The US Treasury Department, in its semiannual report on the macroeconomic and foreign exchange policies of major trading partners submitted to Congress that day, designated 10 countries as currency monitoring list countries: South Korea, China, Japan, Taiwan, Singapore, Vietnam, Germany, Ireland, Switzerland and Thailand. All 10 countries had also appeared on the monitoring list in the January report.

The report said of South Korea that "despite a large current account surplus, the won has been subject to persistent depreciation pressure."

It added that South Korean authorities "are making progress in easing restrictions on foreign investor participation in South Korea's foreign exchange market," which it said "appears likely to support market liquidity and price discovery over the medium term."