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Korea's FX market volume rises 16.3% in 1st year of extended trading hours

Published: 04 Jul. 2025, 13:35 Updated: 04 Jul. 2025, 14:13

The Ministry of Economy and Finance [YONHAP]

The average daily trading volume of Korea's foreign exchange (FX) market has increased 16.3 percent from a year earlier since the country extended trading hours, the finance ministry said Friday.

In July 2024, Korea extended the operating hours of its currency market from the previous six-and-a-half hours — from 9 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. — to 17 hours, now closing at 2 a.m. the following day. The move was part of broader efforts to ease regulations and attract more foreign participants to the market.

According to the Ministry of Economy and Finance, the average daily FX spot trading volume over the past year, since the start of July 2024, reached $12.31 billion, an increase of $1.73 billion from the same period a year earlier.

During the newly added hours between 3:30 p.m. and 2 a.m., the market recorded an average daily trading volume of $2.22 billion, accounting for 18 percent of the total, the ministry added.

The extended trading hours aim to boost liquidity and increase the participation of overseas investors, in line with the government's move to open up the local financial market and draw more foreign capital.

As of now, a total of 52 Registered Foreign Institutions (RFIs) have signed up to trade during the extended hours, the ministry said, noting that transactions and settlements for these institutions have been proceeding smoothly.

To further support RFIs and encourage increased activity during extended hours, the ministry said it plans to implement additional supplementary measures.

Such measures include clearly defining the minimum trading volume requirement for RFIs to an annual average of $100 million over the past three years, the ministry said.

The ministry said it will also extend the grace period for RFIs' reporting obligation to the Bank of Korea's FX information system by an additional six months, from June 2025 to the end of December 2025, and continue with the planned introduction of customer foreign exchange brokerage services to improve convenience for foreign investors, as well as domestic and international companies and institutions.

Yonhap