Foreign Exchange Reserves Increase for Three Consecutive Months in June... $410.7 Billion

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Eun-byeol] Foreign exchange reserves increased in June as foreign currency asset management income rose, breaking the record for the highest level ever.

The Bank of Korea announced on the 3rd that as of the end of June, foreign exchange reserves stood at $410.75 billion, an increase of $3.44 billion compared to the end of the previous month. Foreign exchange reserves, which had sharply decreased in March due to the impact of the novel coronavirus infection (COVID-19), have been on the rise since April.

The Bank of Korea explained that the increase in foreign exchange reserves was due to income generated from foreign currency asset management and the depreciation of the US dollar, which increased the dollar-converted value of foreign currency assets denominated in other currencies.

Securities, which account for 90.7% of foreign exchange reserves, increased by $6.88 billion to $372.58 billion compared to the previous month. Deposits rose by $280 million to $26.04 billion. The 'IMF position,' which is the drawing right of exchangeable currency with the IMF, increased by $260 million to $4.25 billion. Special Drawing Rights (SDRs) with the IMF amounted to $3.08 billion, and gold holdings remained unchanged at $4.79 billion compared to the previous month.

As of the end of May, South Korea's foreign exchange reserves ranked 9th in the world. China ($3.1017 trillion) had the largest amount, followed by Japan ($1.3782 trillion) and Switzerland ($912 billion).

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