"Buy Dollars While Cheap"... December Foreign Currency Deposits Reach $94.2 Billion, Another Record High

[Image source=Reuters Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Eun-byeol] Last month, residents' foreign currency deposits once again broke the record for the highest amount. As the won-dollar exchange rate showed a downward trend, individuals increased their dollar deposits with a 'buying at a low price' mindset, which had an impact.

According to the "Resident Foreign Currency Deposit Trends in December" announced by the Bank of Korea on the 18th, the balance of residents' foreign currency deposits at foreign exchange banks as of the end of last month was $94.2 billion. This is the largest amount ever recorded, exceeding the previous record of $93.61 billion at the end of December by $590 million.

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

Foreign currency deposits had broken records for three consecutive months starting from June last year but temporarily decreased in September (-$3.1 billion). However, since October, they have continued to set new records for three consecutive months.

By category, corporate deposits ($74.39 billion) decreased by $200 million in one month, but individual deposits ($19.81 billion) increased by $790 million.

By currency type, dollar deposits ($80.04 billion) increased by $180 million compared to the end of November, and euro ($4.71 billion) and yen deposits ($5.44 billion) also rose by $210 million and $110 million respectively. In particular, individual dollar deposits increased by as much as $730 million. Yuan deposits ($1.98 billion) decreased by $120 million.

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