South Korea’s foreign reserves continue to decline

South Korea’s foreign exchange reserves dwindled for the fourth straight month in February due partly to a cut in the value of non-U.S. dollar assets, the central bank said Friday.

Foreign exchange reserves stood at $365.76 billion at the end of last month, down $1.54 billion from the previous month according to the Bank of Korea. 

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

The drop was due to “the devaluation of euro and British pound-denominated assets in terms of U.S. dollars caused by the weakening of those currencies,” the central bank said in a press release.

In February, the British pound traded at an average $1.38 per pound, down 3.5 percent from $1.43 the previous month.

The central bank said the country was the world’s seventh-largest holder of foreign exchange reserves as of end-January.

(khnews@heraldcorp.com)