The South Korean won continued to decline against the U.S. dollar Friday, extending its loss to the second consecutive session as it moves in tandem with the global trend of the strong dollar following the Federal Reserve meeting.

The local currency ended at 1,044.60 won against the greenback, down 1.20 won from Thursday’s close.

The dollar rose to the highest in six years earlier in the day on expectations that the Fed’s fund rates will be raised at a faster-than-expected clip, prodding investors to park their money in an economy that ensures higher gains.

“Speculation about the U.S dollar’s strength against the yen would help fuel a further rise in the won-dollar rate,” said Chung Kyong-pal, an analyst at KEB Futures.

The Fed pledged to keep short-term interest rates near zero for a “considerable time,” but raised its median estimate for the federal funds rate to 1.375 percent at the end of next year, compared with 1.125 percent in June. Its forecast for the fund rates for 2017 was set at 3.75 percent. (Yonhap)