S. Korea’s Foreign Reserves Increase for Second Month in a Row in July

Seoul: South Korea's foreign reserves rose for the second consecutive month in July, led by increased investment returns and new issuance of foreign exchange stabilization bonds, the central bank said Tuesday. The country's foreign reserves had stood at US$411.33 billion as of end-July, up $1.13 billion from a month earlier.According to Yonhap News Agency, this marked the second consecutive monthly rise, as the figure rebounded from the lowest level in about five years following a two-month losing streak in June. "Despite the strong dollar that weighed on the value of non-dollar assets, the foreign reserves grew on the back of new issuance of foreign currency-denominated foreign exchange stabilization bonds and increased investment returns," a BOK official said.Foreign securities, such as U.S. Treasuries, had been valued at $365.1 billion as of end-July, up by $6.56 billion from a month earlier. They accounted for 88.8 percent of foreign reserves. The value of deposits sank 19.93 percent on-month to $21.2 5 billion, while special drawing rights (SDRs) fell 1.19 percent to $15.71 billion. Gold bullion remained unchanged at $4.79 billion.The country's International Monetary Fund (IMF) reserve positions had gained 1.12 percent to stand at $4.52 billion as of end-July, the data showed. South Korea ranked as the world's 10th-largest holder of foreign reserves at end-June. China topped the list, followed by Japan, Switzerland, India and Russia, according to the BOK.