South Korea’s foreign-exchange reserves edged higher in June, the Bank of Korea said on July 3, as an increase in foreign-currency deposits at financial institutions more than offset the impact of foreign-exchange market stabilization measures.
The country’s foreign-exchange reserves stood at $427.36 billion at the end of June, up $370 million from $426.99 billion at the end of May. The increase followed an $880 million decline a month earlier.
A Bank of Korea official said the gain came despite market-stabilization operations, including foreign-exchange swap arrangements with the National Pension Service, as foreign-currency deposits held by financial institutions increased.
Among reserve assets, foreign securities—the largest component—fell $330 million to $380.34 billion.
Holdings of the International Monetary Fund’s Special Drawing Rights declined $140 million to $15.64 billion, while South Korea’s reserve position at the IMF fell $90 million to $4.31 billion.
Deposits increased $920 million to $22.27 billion. Gold holdings were unchanged at $4.79 billion, as the central bank values its gold reserves at historical acquisition cost rather than market prices.
South Korea held the world’s 13th-largest foreign-exchange reserves at the end of May, with $427.0 billion, slipping one place from the previous month as Singapore moved ahead in the global rankings.
China remained the world’s largest holder of foreign-exchange reserves with $3.442 trillion, followed by Japan at $1.306 trillion and Switzerland at $1.077 trillion. Russia, India, Taiwan, Germany, Saudi Arabia, Italy, Hong Kong, France and Singapore also ranked ahead of South Korea.
South Korea ranked ninth globally from September through December last year before falling to 10th in January and 12th in February. The latest rankings placed the country 13th.
