Foreign Reserves Hit 9-Month High

South Korea's foreign exchange reserves hit a nine-month high in June, buoyed by trade surplus and an influx of foreign capital searching for local stocks, according to the central Bank of Korea Thursday.

The reserves amounted to $231.7 billion as of the end of June, up $4.96 billion from a month earlier.

The figure was the biggest since last September when it reached $239.7 billion. The reserves rose for the fourth straight month in June.

"The country's trade surplus has been consistent and foreign investors have returned to snap up local stocks," a central bank official was quoted as saying.

South Korea grappled with falling foreign exchange reserves last year as the global economic crisis deepened. The central bank provided foreign currency liquidity for cash-strapped banks by tapping foreign exchange reserves amid the global economic gloom.

As of the end of May, South Korea was the world's sixth-largest holder of foreign exchange reserves after China, Japan, Russia, Taiwan and India.