Foreign exchange reserves climb
Published: 05 Apr. 2016, 20:36
According to the Bank of Korea on Tuesday, the foreign exchange reserves of the fourth largest economy in Asia stood at $369.84 billion as of late March, up $4.08 billion or 1.1 percent from $365.76 billion in February.
The March figure marks a rebound for the first time in five months, the data showed.
“The increase can be attributed to significant appreciation in non-dollar foreign assets including the euro and pound in accordance with the weakening dollar,” said the central bank in a press release. “In addition to that, returns of managing the foreign exchange reserves rose.”
The U.S. greenback has started to depreciate as the Federal Reserve showed a careful stance on raising its key interest rate last month.
Foreign exchange reserves are comprised of $340.5 billion in securities, $20.3 billion in deposits denominated in other currencies, $1.84 billion in International Monetary Fund reserve positions, $2.38 billion worth in special drawing rights (SDR) from the IMF fund and $4.79 billion in gold.
As of February, the country was the seventh-largest holder of foreign exchange reserves, the report highlighted.
Most of the increases in reserves came from overseas securities held in non-dollar currencies, the report said.
Foreign reserves held in overseas securities marked $340.53 billion in March, up $4.03 billion from the previous month. Meanwhile, overseas deposits hit $20.3 billion, adding just $500 million over the same period.
The country’s SDR volume grew $300 million to $2.38 billion, while its reserve positions at the IMF shrank $300 million to $1.84 billion.
Holdings in gold remained unchanged from February at $4.79 billion.
BY SONG SU-HYUN [song.suhyun@joongang.co.kr]
with the Korea JoongAng Daily
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