Weak yen may boost demand for South Korean goods in Japan

Weaker yen may boost demand for South Korean goods in Japan as the falling yen could lift Japan's economy, and in turn, overall demand, Moody's Analytics said in a report on Wednesday. "It's not all negative for Korea," said Matthew Circosta, a Sydney-based economist at Moody's Analytics. "A falling yen and rising won, which reflect improvements in global risk appetites, signal a strengthening world economy." The economist forecast that better growth prospects in Japan from the weaker yen could lead to stronger overall demand for South Korean products. His comments came amid growing concerns over weaker competitiveness of South Korean exporters, which are competing with Japanese rivals in many areas such as electronics, autos, chemicals and machinery. Since September, the Japanese yen has dropped more than 17 percent against the U.S. dollar, while the South Korean won has gained 3.5 percent versus the greenback. The won rallied more than 20 percent to the yen. Reflecting mixed export outlook for both economies, Japan's benchmark Nikkei index has surged around 31 percent since September, while South Korea's KOSPI index has swung between gains and losses to be broadly unchanged. The economist forecast that the Bank of Japan will not announce any new additional easing measures until a new governor takes charge in April, saying the Bank of Korea will not alter its policy rate due to a slow and steady recovery of the economy. The South Korean central bank is scheduled to hold a regular monetary policy meeting on Thursday. Market watchers expected the bank to freeze the rate at 2.75 percent, taking a wait-and-see stance for four straight months.