S. Korea's FX reserves hit fresh high in July

All News 06:00 August 05, 2020

SEOUL, Aug. 5 (Yonhap) -- South Korea's foreign reserves rose for the fourth consecutive month in July, hitting a record high on a rise in the value of non-dollar assets and an increase in investment return, central bank data showed Wednesday.

The country's foreign reserves came to US$416.53 billion as of end-July, up $5.77 billion from a month earlier, according to the Bank of Korea (BOK).

Foreign reserves consist of securities and deposits denominated in overseas currencies, International Monetary Fund reserve positions, special drawing rights and gold bullion.

The country's FX reserves rose for the fourth straight month in July. They dropped $8.96 billion in March, the largest fall in over a decade, as the U.S. greenback gained ground amid the COVID-19 pandemic-caused market rout.

The BOK said the FX reserves climbed last month as a weaker U.S. dollar boosted the dollar-conversion value of non-dollar assets, while investment profit rose.

In July, the euro appreciated 5.3 percent against the U.S. dollar, while the Japanese yen gained 2.7 percent and the British pound climbed 6.4 percent per the greenback, respectively.

Foreign securities came to $379.38 billion as of end-July, up $6.79 billion from the previous month and accounting for 91.1 percent of the FX reserves.

Gold holdings remained unchanged at $4.79 billion.

As of the end of June, South Korea was the world's nine-largest holder of foreign-exchange reserves.