January Foreign Exchange Reserves at 442.73 Billion USD... Decrease of 370 Million USD Due to Strong US Dollar

[Image source=Reuters Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Eun-byeol] South Korea's foreign exchange reserves, which had been reaching record highs, decreased last month. This was due to the strengthening of the US dollar, which reduced the US dollar equivalent of foreign currency assets denominated in other currencies.

According to the Bank of Korea on the 3rd, as of the end of January, foreign exchange reserves stood at $442.73 billion, down $370 million from the previous month. The foreign exchange reserves had set record highs for seven consecutive months since June last year but decreased this time.

Securities, which account for the majority of total assets, amounted to $404.57 billion (91.4%), down $5.27 billion from the previous month. Deposits were $24.99 billion (5.6%), up $4.71 billion, while the International Monetary Fund (IMF) Special Drawing Rights (SDR) were $3.56 billion, and the IMF position was $4.81 billion.

Gold was recorded at $4.79 billion, the same as the previous month, because it is valued at the purchase price rather than the market price.

Meanwhile, as of the end of December last year, South Korea's foreign exchange reserves ranked 9th in the world. China holds $3.2165 trillion, ranking first, and Japan is second with $1.3947 trillion.

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