Foreign Exchange Reserves at the End of March Total $457.81 Billion... Decrease of $3.96 Billion

Dollar Strength Weakens, Turning to Decline After One Month

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Seo So-jung] South Korea's foreign exchange reserves decreased again after a month, totaling 457.81 billion dollars. This is due to the strength of the US dollar.

According to the Bank of Korea on the 5th, as of the end of March, South Korea's foreign exchange reserves stood at 457.81 billion dollars, down 3.96 billion dollars from the end of the previous month.

The foreign exchange reserves reached a record high of 469.21 billion dollars at the end of October last year, then decreased for three consecutive months from the end of November to the end of January, increased in February, and turned to a decline again at the end of March.

The Bank of Korea explained, "The decrease in the US dollar conversion amount of other currency foreign assets and measures to ease volatility in the foreign exchange market caused the decline in foreign exchange reserves."

The foreign exchange reserves consisted of securities worth 410.21 billion dollars (89.6%), deposits of 22.81 billion dollars (5.0%), Special Drawing Rights (SDR) of 15.42 billion dollars (3.4%), gold of 4.79 billion dollars (1.0%), and IMF position of 4.58 billion dollars (1.0%).

Deposits (3.39 billion dollars), securities (630 million dollars), and IMF position (40 million dollars) decreased compared to the previous month, while SDR increased by 100 million dollars. Gold remained unchanged from the previous month.

As of February, South Korea's foreign exchange reserves (461.8 billion dollars) maintained the 8th largest position globally. China had the largest reserves at 3.2138 trillion dollars, followed by Japan (1.3846 trillion dollars), Switzerland (1 trillion dollars), India (631.9 billion dollars), and Russia (617.1 billion dollars).