SEOUL, 05 Dec. (Yonhap) — South Korea’s foreign exchange reserves rebounded in November as the greenback fell in value, data from the Bank of Korea (BOK) showed on Monday.
Foreign exchange reserves stood at $416.1 billion at the end of November, up $2.09 billion from the previous month.
The value of holdings in currencies other than the dollar has increased when converted into US currency due to its recent devaluation.
The dollar index, which measures its value against six other major currencies, weakened about 3.5% last month, according to the central bank.
November’s growth came despite the currency swap between the BOK and the National Pension Service (NPS) which allowed the latter to tap into reserves to borrow dollars in exchange for won.
This operation aimed to calm the demand for dollars on the spot market and to protect the Korean currency. For its part, the BOK did not disclose any information on this loan from the NPS.
Foreign exchange reserves consist of securities and deposits denominated in foreign currencies, reserve positions in the International Monetary Fund, special drawing rights and gold bullion.
Foreign securities, such as U.S. Treasuries, were valued at $365.62 billion at the end of November, or 87.9% of total foreign reserves, the data showed. The value of deposits was $26.68 billion, which represented 6.4% of the total.
At the end of October, South Korea was ranked ninth in the world for holding foreign exchange reserves, according to the BOK.