April 20, 2024

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[THE INVESTOR] Korea’s foreign exchange reserves continued their record breaking rally for the third month in a row in May on increased gains from investment in foreign assets, central bank data showed on June 5.

The total value of the country’s forex reserves came to a record US$398.98 billion last month, up $560 million from a month earlier, according to the data from the Bank of Korea.

The figure has been breaking the previous records every month since March, when it hit US$395.75 billion.

The BOK said the on-month gain was driven by a rise in proceeds from foreign asset investments as the value of foreign securities like government bonds and corporate debts amounted to US$366.35 billion.

The country’s reserve position at the IMF stood at US$1.58 billion at the end of May, while holdings in gold bullion were worth US$4.79 billion during the same period, the central bank said.

The BOK, meanwhile, said that, as of the end of April, South Korea placed ninth in the world ranking of foreign exchange reserves. China topped the list, followed by Japan and Switzerland.

By Song Seung-hyun and newswires (ssh@heraldcorp.com)