한미 통화스와프 자금 87억 달러 1차로 풀려<br /><br />South Korea's central bank has started auctioning off some of the dollars secured through the currency swap deal with the U.S.<br />In the first tranche, local banks got more than 8 billion dollars, but that was actually less than what was on offer.<br />That could mean the local dollar shortage is not as severe as expected.<br />Lee Seung-jae has more.<br />Eight-point-seven-two billion U.S. dollars.<br />That's the amount the Bank of Korea offered in loans to local banks and other financial institutions on Tuesday,... during a 30-minute online auction to provide them with 800 million dollars in seven-day debt and 7-point-9-2 billion dollars to be paid back within 84-days.<br />The figure was below the BOK's initial expectation of 10 billion dollars,... which the central bank said was due to the considerable easing of the local dollar crunch.<br />"The reason why the bidding amount was smaller compared to the bidding size is because it seems overall, foreign currency liquidity isn't that bad right now."<br />According to the BOK,.. the dollar injection will stabilize the currency market,... with more auctions to take place depending on the market situation.<br />The amount is the first batch of the central bank's 60 billion dollar currency swap agreement it recently signed with the Federal Reserve,... aimed at tackling a dollar crunch and a plunge in the local currency amid the COVID-19 outbreak,... and flat-lining oil prices.<br />South Korea signed its first currency swap deal with the U.S. in 2008,... to cushion the country from the fallout caused by the global financial crisis.<br />Successful bidders from Tuesday's auction will receive the dollars within the next 24 to 48 hours.<br />Lee Seung-jae, Arirang News.<br />
