S. Korea's FX reserves fall in March on stronger dollar

South Korea's foreign reserves declined in March as the US dollar's strength reduced the value of non-dollar assets, central bank data showed Monday.

The nation's foreign reserves came to $446.1 billion as of end-March, down $1.43 billion from the previous month, 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 FX reserves declined last month as a stronger US dollar drove down the dollar-conversion value of non-dollar assets.

Foreign securities came to $406 billion as of end-March, down $3.68 billion from the previous month and accounting for 91 percent of the FX reserves.

But deposits grew $2.54 billion on-month to $27.3 billion, and gold holdings remained unchanged at $4.79 billion.

As of the end of February, South Korea was the world's eighth-largest holder of FX reserves, up one notch from the previous month.

It marked the first time since March 2019 that the country's FX reserves ranked eighth. (Yonhap)