À̹ÌÁö È®´ë Foreign currency deposits held by South Korea rose for the second straight month in March as companies increased dollar holdings amid strong overseas shipments.
According to the Bank of Korea on Monday, the outstanding balance in FX deposits came to $92.7 billion as of end-March, up $2.67 billion from the previous month.
The FX deposits gained for the second consecutive month in March after slipping in January for the first time in four months.
Companies chose to hold on to dollars on improving exports despite strengthening in the U.S. dollar, the BOK said.
Corporate holdings of FX deposits stood at $73.33 billion, adding $2.83 billion against the previous month while individual holdings declined $160 million to $19.37 billion.
The U.S. dollar deposits which took up 85.6 percent of the whole FX deposits increased $2.43 billion on month to $79.35 billion. Japanese yen savings gained $170 million to $5.52 billion and Euro deposits $10 million to $4.35 billion. Deposits in Chinese yuan also climbed $100 million to $1.78 billion.
By Lee Soo-min
[¨Ï Pulse by Maeil Business Newspaper & mk.co.kr, All rights reserved]