Foreign Exchange Reserves at $449.3 Billion at End of April, Down $8.51 Billion... Decline for Second Consecutive Month

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Seo So-jung] As the US dollar continues to strengthen, South Korea's foreign exchange reserves have decreased for the second consecutive month to $449.3 billion.

According to the Bank of Korea on the 4th, as of the end of April, South Korea's foreign exchange reserves stood at $449.3 billion, down $8.51 billion from the end of the previous month.

The foreign exchange reserves reached a record high of $469.21 billion 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 have shown a declining trend again for two consecutive months since the end of March.

The Bank of Korea explained, "The decrease in foreign exchange reserves was due to the reduction in the US dollar equivalent of other currency foreign assets caused by the strengthening of the US dollar, as well as measures to ease volatility in the foreign exchange market."

The foreign exchange reserves consisted of securities at $408.83 billion (91%), deposits at $16.25 billion (3.6%), Special Drawing Rights (SDR) at $14.98 billion (3.3%), gold at $4.79 billion (1.1%), and IMF position at $4.45 billion (1.0%).

Deposits ($6.56 billion), securities ($1.38 billion), SDR ($440 million), and IMF position ($130 million) all decreased compared to the previous month. Gold remained unchanged from the previous month.

As of March, South Korea's foreign exchange reserves ($457.8 billion) maintained the 8th largest position globally. China had the largest reserves at $3.188 trillion, followed by Japan ($1.3561 trillion), Switzerland ($1.0648 trillion), India ($607.3 billion), and Russia ($606.4 billion).