April 19, 2024

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South Korea’s foreign exchange reserves rose to a new high last month, but largely due to the weakening of the US dollar, which pushed up the dollar value of its assets held in other currencies, central bank data showed Nov. 5.

As of end-October, the country’s forex reserves came to $406.32 billion, up $3 billion from a month earlier, according to data from the Bank of Korea.

“The rise largely stems from an increase in profit from forex assets and the dollar-equivalent value of forex reserves held in other currencies due to the weakening of the US dollar,” the BOK said.

In October, the dollar dropped 5 percent against the British pound and 1.9 percent against the euro, according to the central bank. The BOK does not disclose the exact proportion of its foreign exchange assets held in each currency.

Forex reserves held in foreign securities, including government and corporate bonds, came to $373.8 billion, accounting for 92 percent of the total. The amount still marked a $700-million drop from the month before.

The country’s forex reserves mark the world’ ninth largest after those of China, Japan, Switzerland, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Taiwan, Hong Kong and India.

By Ram Garikipati and newswires (ram@heraldcorp.com)