The won-dollar exchange rate climbed to a new high for this year early Friday. 

On the Seoul foreign exchange, the local currency traded at one-thousand-326 point-nine won against the dollar shortly after trading began, breaking the previous intraday record of one-thousand-326-point-seven won posted on July 15.

Market observers attributed the won’s weakness to mounting concerns over tighter global monetary policies following the U.S. Federal Reserve’s disclosure of the minutes from its Federal Open Market Committee held last month. At that gathering, the U.S. central bank stressed the need for further interest rate hikes. 

The new high also apparently came after Federal Reserve Bank of Saint Louis President James Bullard said on Thursday that interest rates should be marked up point-75 percentage points. 

Some insiders expect the Federal Reserve will raise interest rates by half a percentage point next month.