S. Korea may conduct FX smoothing op: finance minister

SEOUL, July 11 (Yonhap) -- South Korea's finance minister said Monday that the government could carry out smoothing operations if the local currency fluctuates sharply against the U.S. dollar.
"If there are steep fluctuations in currency rates, our basic stance is that we could implement smoothing operations to ease the herd behavior in the market," Finance Minister Bahk Jae-wan told reporters after a meeting with financial experts in Seoul.
But he cautioned that his remarks do not mean that the government will take any immediate action in that regard, saying, "It is tough to say that now is the time."
The remarks were in response to questions about his take on the recent local currency market situation in which the won has appreciated significantly against the U.S. dollar.
South Korea's won has gained 7.36 percent against the greenback since the start of this year, closing at 1,057 won on Friday.
The currency's rise could help the government's ongoing efforts to ease inflationary pressure by lowering import costs but it could also hurt exports, a key driving force behind the nation's economic growth, by undermining price competitiveness in overseas markets.
kokobj@yna.co.kr