South Korea's Foreign Reserves Decline to $440.56 Billion in September

by Sooyoung Jang Posted : October 6, 2026, 06:04Updated : October 6, 2026, 06:04

South Korea's foreign reserves have decreased for the first time in four months.


According to the Bank of Korea on October 6, the country's foreign reserves stood at $440.56 billion at the end of September, down $17.2 billion from the end of August, when they were $442.88 billion. After three consecutive months of increases since June, the reserves fell in September.


A Bank of Korea official explained, "Despite operational income, the decline was due to a decrease in foreign currency deposits at financial institutions, asset management for the Korea-U.S. Strategic Investment Corporation, and a reduction in the dollar-equivalent value of foreign assets in other currencies."


By asset type, securities decreased by $10.5 billion to $386.03 billion. Deposits also fell by $3.5 billion to $29.95 billion.


Special Drawing Rights (SDR) decreased by $290 million to $15.48 billion, while the IMF position dropped by $400 million to $4.3 billion. Gold remained unchanged at $47.9 billion, as it is reported at the purchase price.





* This article has been translated by AI.