Won Rises; More to Come?

The won rose against the U.S. dollar Wednesday for the fourth straight day, boosted by the rising Japanese yen and a big conversion by Ssangyong Cement's major shareholder.

Soon after the market opened, the won strengthened to 1,318 to the dollar before receding to 1,325 by the close, still stronger than Tuesday's close of 1,334.10.

"The won surged against the dollar following the yen's rise to an intraday high of 123.88 to the dollar," a trader from a local bank said. "Also, Ssangyong Cement's largest shareholder, Taiheiyo Cement Corp. of Japan, was buying won." Taiheiyo agreed recently to buy 300 billion won of the ailing cement maker's convertible bonds.

The official said that the won has "more room to rise," as there are no concerns of a dollar shortage in the exchange market.