Resident Foreign Currency Deposits Increase for Third Consecutive Month, Dollar Deposits Rise by $2.2 Billion

Domestic resident foreign currency deposits have increased for the third consecutive month, driven by rising customer deposits at securities firms and inflows of corporate current account payments.

According to the Bank of Korea's report on 'Trends in Resident Foreign Currency Deposits' released on July 27, the balance of resident foreign currency deposits at foreign exchange banks stood at $113.33 billion at the end of June, an increase of $1.08 billion from the previous month. This marks three months of continuous growth since April.

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

Last month, foreign currency deposits increased primarily in U.S. dollars and corporate deposits.

By currency, U.S. dollar deposits rose by $2.25 billion to $97.8 billion. This increase was attributed to higher customer deposits at securities firms related to margin trading and overseas securities investments. Additionally, large corporations' receipt of current account payments contributed to the rise in dollar deposits.

In contrast, yen deposits decreased by $410 million to $7.12 billion due to current account payments. Euro deposits also fell by $460 million to $5.84 billion as some companies repaid loans.

By sector, corporate deposits increased by $1.58 billion to $98.99 billion, while individual deposits decreased by $500 million to $14.33 billion.