Foreign Currency Deposits of Residents at $91.39 Billion in April... Declining for 4 Consecutive Months

An employee organizing US dollars at the Hana Bank Counterfeit Response Center in Jung-gu, Seoul [Photo by Yonhap News]

Foreign currency deposits held by residents in South Korea have decreased for four consecutive months.

According to the 'Resident Foreign Currency Deposit Trends' released by the Bank of Korea on the 24th, foreign currency deposits of residents at foreign exchange banks stood at $91.39 billion at the end of last month, down $6.1 billion from the previous month.

Resident foreign currency deposits refer to foreign currency deposits held domestically by Korean nationals, domestic companies, foreigners residing in Korea for more than six months, and foreign companies operating in Korea.

Resident foreign currency deposits have declined for four consecutive months this year after reaching a record high of $110.98 billion in December last year. The decrease ($6.1 billion) also widened compared to the previous month ($30 million).

In terms of balance, this is the lowest level since the end of September last year ($89.5 billion).

By currency, deposits in US dollars, Japanese yen, and euros decreased by $5.13 billion, $340 million, and $430 million respectively compared to the end of the previous month.

The Bank of Korea explained, "US dollar and Japanese yen deposits decreased due to corporate payments for import settlements, withdrawals for overseas direct investment, and securities investment funds, while euro deposits decreased due to corporate payments for import settlements."

By sector, corporate deposits decreased by $5.41 billion to $77.54 billion, and individual deposits decreased by $690 million to $13.85 billion.

Deposits at domestic banks fell by $5.83 billion to $82.02 billion, while deposits at foreign bank branches decreased by $270 million to $9.37 billion.