S. Korea's foreign currency reserves grow in June

SEOUL, July 3 (Yonhap) -- South Korea's foreign reserves slightly increased from a month earlier in June, the central bank said Wednesday.

The country's foreign exchange reserves came to US$403.07 billion as of the end of last month, up $1.1 billion from the previous month, according to the Bank of Korea (BOK).

The increase was largely attributed to the weakening of the U.S. greenback that led to an appreciation in the value of the country's foreign reserves held in other major currencies, such as euros.

The euro traded for $1.1369 at end-June, up 2.1 percent from $1.1133 the month before, the BOK said.

Foreign exchange reserves consist of securities and deposits denominated in overseas currencies, as well as International Monetary Fund (IMF) reserve positions, special drawing rights and gold bullion.

Foreign securities, including government bonds and corporate debts, came to $373.84 billion at the end of last month, down $1.95 billion from a month earlier. Foreign currency deposits gained $2.78 billion to $18.49 billion over the cited period, according to the BOK.

Meanwhile, the central bank said the country's foreign exchange reserves were the world's ninth largest as of end-May.

bdk@yna.co.kr
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