À̹ÌÁö È®´ë South Korea¡¯s foreign exchange reserves hit a fresh record high of $409.65 billion at the end of January, breaking the previous record set just a month ago thanks to the growth in profit gains from non-dollar denominated assets.
According to data released by the Bank of Korea on Wednesday, the country¡¯s foreign exchange reserves totaled $409.65 billion as of late January, up $840 million from a month ago.
The central bank said the gain was largely driven by the increase in gains from investments in assets denominated in foreign currency, although the value of non-dollar assets weakened due to the strong U.S. dollars.
Securities including government, public entity and corporate bonds decreased $6.58 billion from the previous month to $378.45 billion in January. Deposits denominated in foreign currency added $7.44 billion to $20.29 billion.
À̹ÌÁö È®´ë The special drawing rights (SDR) from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) slipped $20 million ton $3.34 billion. The SDR is an international reserve asset created by the IMF that can be withdrawn by its members in proportion to their quota in the fund.
The nation¡¯s reserve position in the fund amounted to $2.78 billion, down $10 million. Gold reserve remained unchanged at $4.79 billion.
As the end of January, South Korea was the world¡¯s ninth largest holder of foreign exchange reserves. China ranked top with $3.18 trillion, followed by Japan at $1.32 trillion and Switzerland at $854.8 billion.
By Choi Mira
[¨Ï Pulse by Maeil Business Newspaper & mk.co.kr, All rights reserved]