Foreign Currency Reserves
The Bank of Korea (BOK) announced on March 5 that the nation’s foreign-exchange reserves amounted to US$351.79 billion as of February, an increase of US$3.4 billion from the previous month.
The country’s FX reserves hit a record high for the 8th consecutive month, after recording US$326.44 billion in June 2013.
An official at BOK explained, “The nation’s foreign currency reserves increased because of a rise in profits from the management of foreign currency assets,” adding, “Another factor is the increased value of euro reserves converted in USD, stemming from a strong euro.”
Securities, which comprise a large proportion of Forex reserves, equaled US$322.89 billion (91.8 percent) last month, an increase of US$4.3 billion from January.
Foreign currency deposits totaled US$18.11 billion (5.1 percent), a decrease of US$610 million, with gold at US$4.79 billion (1.4 percent), special drawing rights (SDRs) US$3.49 billion (1 percent), and IMF reserve position at US$2.5 billion (0.7 percent).
Korea ranked 7th in FX reserves as of late January. The largest Forex reserve-holding country was China (US$3.8213 trillion), followed by Japan (US$1.2771 trillion), Switzerland (US$532.4 billion), Russia (US$498.9 billion), and Taiwan (US$416.9 billion).