À̹ÌÁö È®´ë The daily foreign exchange trading by banks in South Korea during the first three months of the year soared to the highest level since 2008 on rebounding exports and stock buying frenzy.
According to data released by the Bank of Korea (BOK) on Friday, the daily foreign exchange turnover averaged $60.94 billion in the first quarter ended March 30, 2021, up 20.7 percent from the previous three months.
It marks the highest since 2008 when the central bank revised its data compiling method.
The gain was driven by the recovery in trading – both exports and imports – in line with eased social-distancing restrictions following world-wide vaccination rollouts as well as increasing securities investment by both Korean nationals and foreign residents, the BOK said.
The average daily turnover of foreign exchange spots grew 21.8 percent on quarter to $24.54 billion during the Jan.-March period, and that of foreign exchange derivatives also rose 19.9 percent to $36.4 billion.
By bank, foreign exchange transactions settled by local banks per day increased 14.7 percent from the three-month period to $27.59 billion. The daily turnover by local branches of foreign banks gained 26.1 percent to $33.35 billion.
By Choi Mira
[¨Ï Pulse by Maeil Business Newspaper & mk.co.kr, All rights reserved]