S. Korea's reserves top $300 billion for first time

South Korea's central bank says the country's foreign reserves have topped $300 billion for the first time as the nation's key buffer against potential financial turmoil surged to its fourth straight record high.

The Bank of Korea said in a statement Tuesday that the nation's official foreign reserves totaled $307.20 billion at the end of April. That was $8.58 billion higher than the previous record of $298.62 billion set in March.

The bank attributed April's gain to a ``sharp increase'' in the dollar value of the portion of the reserves denominated in the euro and British pound in line with their strength against the greenback.

The bank said that increased operating profits on the reserves also contributed to the gain.

(AP)