The country's FX reserves totaled US$362.75 billion as of the end of March, up $380 million from a month earlier, according to the Bank of Korea (BOK).
FX reserves reached a peak of $368.03 billion in July last year, before sliding due to a strong U.S. dollar which, BOK officials said, reduced the conversion value of euro and pound-denominated assets.
"Last month, the conversion value of non-dollar assets continued to drop. But the country's foreign reserve holdings rose from a month earlier as returns on foreign currency asset management increased," a central bank official said.
In March, securities accounted for a dominant 91.1 percent or $330.55 billion of the total foreign reserve holdings, a decrease of $2.01 billion from the previous month, the announcement said.
The rest included deposits of $22.8 billion, up $2.84 billion from the previous month; gold of $4.79 billion, the same as that of February; SDRs of $3.13 billion, down $70 million; and the nation's IMF reserve position of $1.49 billion, down $380 million.
reporter
Park Sae-jin
swatchsjp@ajunews.com
