South Korea's foreign currency reserves reduced for three months through January due to strong U. S. dollar that decreased the dollar-denominated value of non-dollar assets, central bank data showed Wednesday.
Foreign reserves reached 367.29 billion U.S. dollars as of end- January, down 0.67 billion U.S. dollars from the previous month, according to the Bank of Korea (BOK).
It marked three straight months of decline. Investment returns kept rising, but the stronger U.S. dollar reduced the converted value of non-dollar assets, especially the British pound, the BOK said.
The dollar turned upward on expectations for further interest rate hike in the United States following the first rate hike in almost a decade in December last year.
The country's foreign currency reserves consisted of 336.39 billion U.S. dollars of securities, 21.47 billion U.S. dollars of deposits, 4.79 billion U.S. dollars of gold bullion, 3.23 billion U.S. dollars of special drawing rights and 1.41 billion U.S. dollars of International Monetary Fund positions.
As of end-December, South Korea ranked the world's seventh largest holder of foreign reserves.
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