Foreign Exchange Reserves at $446.1 Billion at End of March 'Decline Again'... 8th Largest in the World

Bank of Korea Announces 'Foreign Exchange Reserves at the End of March 2021'
China Tops the World with $3.205 Trillion

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

According to the 'Foreign Exchange Reserves as of the End of March 2021' announced by the Bank of Korea on the 4th, South Korea's foreign exchange reserves at the end of March stood at $446.13 billion, down $1.43 billion from the end of the previous month ($447.56 billion).

The foreign exchange reserves had set record highs for seven consecutive months until the end of last year but decreased in January this year. They then broke the record again in February.

The US dollar index, which measures the dollar against the six major currencies, was 93.30 at the end of March, up 3.5% from 90.13 in the previous month.

By asset type, securities such as government bonds, government agency bonds, corporate bonds, and asset-backed securities accounted for $405.95 billion, making up 91.0% of the total.

Deposits accounted for $27.28 billion (6.1%), gold for $4.79 billion (1.1%), and the IMF position, which is the drawing rights in convertible currencies at the IMF, accounted for $4.6 billion (1.0%).

Additionally, the IMF's Special Drawing Rights (SDR) amounted to $3.51 billion (0.8%).

As of the end of March this year, South Korea's foreign exchange reserves ranked 8th in the world. It had maintained 9th place since March last year but rose one rank. China's foreign exchange reserves, ranked first, were $3.205 trillion, down $5.7 billion from the previous month.

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