Korea's foreign reserves up for 3rd month in Aug. amid weak dollar
A banker checks dollars at Hana Bank's Counterfeit Notes Response Center in Seoul, July 5. Yonhap
Korea's foreign reserves rose for the third consecutive month in August, led by the increased value of non-U.S. dollar assets and increased investment returns, the central bank said Tuesday.
The country's foreign reserves stood at $416.29 billion as of end-August, up $4.95 billion from a month earlier, according to the data from the Bank of Korea (BOK).
The end-August tally marks the highest since September 2024, when the figure stood at $419.97 billion.
The central bank said an increase in the value of non-dollar assets due to a weakening of the greenback, along with a rise in investment returns, helped jack up foreign reserves. The dollar index fell 2 percent last month.
Foreign securities, such as U.S. Treasuries, were valued at $366.1 billion as of end-August, accounting for 88 percent of foreign reserves.
The value of foreign currency deposits amounted to $25 billion, while special drawing rights (SDRs) came in at $15.78 billion. Gold bullion remained unchanged at $4.79 billion.
The country's International Monetary Fund (IMF) reserve positions gained 1.12 percent from a month earlier to $4.54 billion at end-August, the data showed.
Korea ranked as the world's 10th-largest holder of foreign reserves at end-July.
China topped the list, followed by Japan, Switzerland, India and Russia, according to the BOK.