Korea's foreign exchange reserves continued to increase in April on a rise in overseas securities and deposits, the central bank said Wednesday.
As of the end of last month, the country's foreign exchange reserves came to $372.48 billion, up $2.64 billion from the previous month, according to the Bank of Korea (BOK).
Bank of Korea (Yonhap)
April marked the second consecutive month the country posted on-month growth in its foreign exchange reserves, following four consecutive months of decline.
Foreign exchange reserves consist of securities and deposits denominated in overseas currencies, as well as International Monetary Fund (IMF) reserve positions, special drawing rights and gold bullion.
The on-month increase in April was attributed to a rise in returns on foreign exchange holdings.
"The rise was largely due to an increase in operating profits on foreign assets, along with an increase in the U.S. dollar value of non-dollar assets," the BOK said in a press release.
As of end-April, the British pound changed hands with the U.S. greenback at $1.4608 per pound, up 1.6 percent from a month earlier, with the value of the Japanese yen jumping 4 percent against the U.S. dollar over the cited period, according to the BOK.
Foreign reserves held in overseas securities, including government Treasurys and corporate bonds, came to $341.26 billion at the end of April, up $740 million from the previous month, with overseas deposits jumping 9.3 percent to $22.19 billion over the cited period.
The country's special drawing rights also gained $30 million from the previous month to $2.41 billion as of end-April.
Holdings in gold bullion remained unchanged at $4.79 billion, the central bank said.
As of March, Korea was the world's seventh-largest holder of foreign exchange reserves, trailing China, Japan, Switzerland, Saudi Arabia, Taiwan and Russia, the BOK said. (Yonhap)
