Seoul:Foreign currency deposits in South Korea surged to a new record high in September, primarily due to a significant increase in dollar savings, as revealed by central bank data.
According to Yonhap News Agency, the outstanding foreign currency-denominated deposits held by residents reached US$154.7 billion at the end of September, reflecting a $14 billion increase from the previous month. This figure represents the highest level since the Bank of Korea (BOK) began collecting such data in June 2012.
The consistent rise in deposits has been recorded every month since April. The term "residents" encompasses South Korean citizens, foreigners residing in the country for over six months, and foreign companies, with the exclusion of interbank deposits.
Breaking it down by currency, U.S. dollar reserves saw an increase of $12.99 billion, reaching $132.9 billion, the highest since June 2012. Euro-denominated savings rose by $0.37 billion to $9.53 billion, and Japanese yen deposits grew by $0.55 billion to $9.49 billion.
Corporate foreign currency deposits experienced a rise of $13.1 billion, totaling $136.6 billion, while individual holdings went up by $0.98 billion, reaching $18.11 billion. The BOK attributed the sharp rise in foreign currency deposits to increased dollar receipts by exporting companies and funds held by local brokerages for investments in foreign bonds.