South Korea’s foreign exchange reserve hit a fresh record high at the end of November, benefiting from greater returns in non-dollar assets against a weaker U.S dollar, central bank data showed.

According to the Bank of Korea on Tuesday, Korea’s foreign exchange reserve reached $387.25 billion at the end of November, up $2.79 billion from the previous month. Compared to the end of last year, the external reserve expanded $16.15 billion.

The gain in external reserve largely comes from depreciation of U.S dollar that increased the value of other currencies when converted into the dollar as well as higher revenue from the bank’s foreign exchange operations, stated the central bank.

By asset type, securities including government, public entity and corporate bonds and asset-backed securities increased by $1.51 billion to $358.92 billion from October. Cash deposits in foreign bank accounts rose by $1.34 billion to $18.63 billion. Gold reserve gained by $120 million to $4.79 billion.

The special drawing rights (SDR) from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) added $80 million to $3.28 billion. SDR is an international reserve asset created by the IMF that can be withdrawn by its members in proportion to their quota in the IMF. The country’s reserve position with the IMF rose by $40 million to $1.63 billion.

Korea remains the world’s ninth biggest holder of foreign exchange reserves as of the end of October. China tops the list with $3.1 trillion, trailed by Japan with $1.3 trillion, Switzerland with $791.4 billion, Saudi Arabia with $493.4 billion, Taiwan with $447.8 billion, Russia with $424.9 billion, Hong Kong with $419.2 billion, and India with $399.2 billion.

By Kim In-oh and Cho Jeehyun

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