Banks' foreign currency deposits rise in July

Foreign currency deposits held by banks operating in South Korea rose in July from a month earlier as exporters increased their deposits of dollar-denominated earnings, central bank data showed Thursday.

Outstanding foreign currency deposits held by local lenders, domestic and foreign, reached $69.11 billion in July, up $5.5 billion from a month earlier, the Bank of Korea said in a statement.

Broken down, foreign currency deposits held by domestic banks came to $59.38 billion in July, up from $54.44 billion in June. The deposits by foreign lenders stood at $9.73 billion, up from $9.17 billion during the same period.

Foreign deposits include those held by foreigners who have stayed in South Korea for more than six months, as well as foreign companies operating here.

The BOK attributed the on-month hike mainly to an increase in U.S. dollar deposits by exporters.

By currency, dollar deposits rose to $59.03 billion in July from $54.19 billion in June. Euro deposits came to $2.61 billion in July from $2.58 billion in June. Yen deposits were valued at $4.47 billion in July from $4 billion in June, the data showed.

By holder, companies held $56.54 billion in foreign currency deposits in July, up from $51.57 billion a month earlier. Deposits held by individuals came to $12.57 billion in July from $12.04 billion in June, it said. (Yonhap)