SEOUL, Oct. 12 (Xinhua) -- Foreign funds flowed out of the South Korean bond market in September as the difference between interest rates of South Korea and the United States widened with the U.S. Federal Reserve's rate increase, central bank data showed Friday.
Foreign capital outflow from the local bond market amounted to 1.98 billion U.S. dollars in September, marking the first outflow since December last year, according to the Bank of Korea (BOK).
It came as the Fed lifted its target rate in September to a range of 2.00-2.25 percent, widening a gap with the BOK's benchmark rate of 1.50 percent.
The BOK refrained from altering the rate since the bank raised it to the current level in November last year from an all-time low of 1.25 percent.
Foreign capital of 560 million U.S. dollars flowed into the local stock market in September, keeping an inflow trend for the third consecutive month.
Volatility for the won/dollar exchange rate hit the highest in three months in September. The won/dollar exchange rate kept rising for the past month amid the strong U.S. dollar.
Premium for credit default swap, which gauges credit risk for the 5-year government bond of South Korea, averaged 39 basis points in September, down 3 basis points from a month earlier.
