As Exchange Rates Rise, Dollar Sales Increase... Foreign Currency Deposits Decrease by $4.46 Billion in January

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Eun-byeol] As the won-dollar exchange rate rose, foreign currency deposits held by domestic residents in January decreased by $4.46 billion compared to the previous month.

According to the "Resident Foreign Currency Deposit Trends in January 2020" released by the Bank of Korea on the 19th, foreign currency deposits of residents at foreign exchange banks at the end of last month stood at $74.98 billion, down $4.46 billion from the previous month.

The significant decrease in dollar deposits was largely due to companies selling spot foreign exchange and withdrawing deposits as the won-dollar exchange rate rose to 1,191.8 won at the end of last month.

Among total foreign currency deposits, the balance of dollar deposits was $64.85 billion, down $3.93 billion. Yuan deposits also decreased by $250 million to $1.17 billion due to increased spot foreign exchange sales by some companies.

By entity, corporate foreign currency deposits among total resident foreign currency deposits decreased by $4.34 billion to $57.65 billion, while individual deposits decreased by $120 million to $17.33 billion.

Resident foreign currency deposits refer to foreign currency deposits held domestically by nationals, domestic companies, foreigners residing in Korea for more than six months, and foreign companies operating in Korea.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.