Close Change USD/KRW 1,155.00 +4.60 JPY/KRW 14.8134 +0.0817 3-Year Treasurys 3.38% +1 bp 5-Year Treasurys 3.53% +1 bp 10-Year Treasurys 3.85% +1 bp 20-Year Treasurys 4.06% +1 bp SEOUL (Dow Jones)--The South Korean won was lower against the U.S. dollar late Monday, giving up early gains due to dollar-buying from importers and some banks. While dollar-selling by exporters sent the U.S. unit down to an intraday low of KRW1,145.10 in morning trade, the greenback was later firmly supported by consistent demand from importers, traders said. Amid a lack of offshore leads and with major markets including the U.S. closed for a holiday until today, the won largely tracked corporate investors' moves, they said. According to the dealers, trading volume shrank Monday to $4.26 billion from last week's daily average of $6.71 billion as most banking players entered the year-end mode. The dollar moved between KRW1,155.50 and KRW1,145.10. Unless fresh offshore cues--especially those related to the euro-zone sovereign debt issue--emerge, the local currency will likely remain rangebound this week, Samsung Futures currency analyst Jeon Seung-ji said. "The dollar may receive moderate support through the week amid ongoing uncertainties about the euro-zone debt, but on the domestic front, exporters' dollar-selling for month-end settlements will likely cap the dollar's upside," she said. For the week, Jeon expects the U.S. unit to move in a KRW1,145-KRW1,160 range. Korean government bonds were marginally lower after recent U.S. data--including Thursday's jobless claims numbers and Friday's durable goods orders--showed that a U.S. recovery is on track. Trading activities are expected to dwindle toward the end of the year, but investors will remain focused on the euro-zone situation and the possibility of a rating downgrade for triple-A-rated countries such as France, said Hwang Soo-ho, a fixed-income analyst at Daishin Securities. "Any abrupt change in France's sovereign rating could again spur worries over a liquidation of local bond investments by foreigners, and make investors become more cautious in trading," he said. Hwang tipped the three-year yield to move between 3.33% and 3.40% this week. Lead March bond futures ended two ticks lower at 104.51. -By Jieun Shin, Dow Jones Newswires; 822-3700-1905; jieun.shin@dowjones.com

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