Currency market efficiency revisited: Evidence from Korea

Abstract

This study aims to test the efficiency of the Korean foreign exchange market and examine its determinants through several well-established methodologies based on the forward rate unbiasedness hypothesis and covered interest rate parity. The empirical findings indicate that the currency market and its related derivatives markets seem to be inefficient during the 2006–2016 period, but have improved considerably after the 2008 global financial crisis. Further, as the main culprits of market inefficiency, we stress the presence of risk premia in the international financial market and the role of central bank intervention.