Korean Won loses against US dollar

The South Korean currency dropped against the U.S. dollar Thursday as remarks by the U.S. Federal Reserve's chief over the bond-buying stimulus sparked demand for the greenback, dealers said. The local currency was trading at 1,145.05 won per the dollar, down 14.25 won from the previous session's close. The won decline came as Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke said Wednesday (local time) that the U.S. central bank is likely to start slowing the pace of its US$85 billion monthly bond purchase program later this year as the U.S. economy is improving. Bernanke said that the Fed could end the stimulus program by mid-2014 after continuing to gradually scale back the pace of the purchase. His remarks confirmed investors' fears about the Fed's tapering, hitting the global financial markets. The Dow Jones industrial average fell 1.35 percent on Wednesday on the Fed concerns. Taking a cue from the Wall Street losses, Korea's key stock index fell 1.29 percent or 24.43 points to trade at 1,863.88 as of 10:52