Due to Appreciation of U.S. Dollars
The Bank of Korea announced on May 7 that South Korea’s foreign exchange reserves totaled US$404.03 billion as of the end of last month, showing a month-on-month decrease of US$1.22 billion.
Korea's forex reserves decreased in February but rebounded in March before edging down in April. “The value of foreign currency-denominated assets converted to the U.S. dollar decreased last month due to U.S. dollar appreciation,” the central bank explained.
The U.S. dollar index calculated based on six major currencies rose 0.7 percent last month to 97.86. In other words, the U.S. dollar appreciated against euro, yen, and other currencies. The euro depreciated 0.4 percent against the U.S. dollar and the depreciation was 0.9 percent, 0.9 percent and 0.3 percent for pound, yen, and Australian dollar, respectively.
Marketable securities such as government and government agency bonds and asset-backed securities fell US$3.34 billion to US$374.16 billion while deposits in foreign central banks and major global banks increased by US$2.11 billion to US$19.38 billion. The SDR edged down by US$180 million to US$3.18 billion and the IMF position rose US$190 million to US$2.51 billion.