Foreign reserves grow in April on dollar's fall

Finance 06:00 May 04, 2023

SEOUL, May 4 (Yonhap) -- South Korea's foreign reserves grew in April as the dollar's descent increased the conversion value of holdings in other currencies, central bank data showed Thursday.

The country's foreign reserves came to US$426.67 billion as of end-April, up $610 million from the previous month, according to the data from the Bank of Korea (BOK).

The dollar's fall last month boosted the converted value of holdings denominated in other currencies, the BOK explained.

The dollar index that gauges the greenback's value against major peers fell about 0.6 percent last month, the central bank said.

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

Foreign securities, such as U.S. Treasuries, had been valued at $374.3 billion as of end-April, down $3.25 billion from a month earlier. They accounted for 87.7 percent of foreign reserves, the data showed.

The value of deposits stood at $27.85 billion in April, up $3.71 billion from a month earlier.

South Korea ranked as the world's ninth-largest holder of foreign reserves at the end of March, the BOK said.