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This file photo shows a Hana Bank official in Seoul inspecting US banknotes before their release into the local financial market. (Yonhap) |
South Korea's foreign reserves inched up in February due to the US dollar's weakness that increased the value of non-US dollar foreign reserves, central bank data showed Thursday.
The nation's foreign reserves came to $447.5 billion as of end-February, up $4.83 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 had risen every month since April last year after dropping by the largest amount in over a decade in March amid the COVID-19 pandemic-caused market rout. However, FX reserves slightly declined in January this year because of the US dollar's strength.
Foreign securities came to $409.6 billion as of end-February, up $5.06 billion from the previous month and accounting for 91.5 percent of the FX reserves.
Deposits fell $250 million on-month to $24.7 billion, and gold holdings remained unchanged at $4.79 billion.
As of the end of January, South Korea was the world's ninth-largest holder of foreign exchange reserves. (Yonhap)
