Data from the Bank of Korea (BOK) on Friday showed that South Korea’s foreign reserves decreased for the third consecutive month in October, due to the strong U.S. dollar and market stabilization measures.
The country’s foreign reserves totaled $412.87 billion at the end of October, a decrease of $1.24 billion from the previous month.
The BOK explained that the appreciation of the dollar in October reduced the value of holdings denominated in other currencies, while the central bank also conducted measures to stabilize the currency market.
The dollar index, which measures the greenback’s value against major peers, dropped 0.1 percent last month, the central bank said.
Foreign reserves comprise of securities and deposits denominated in overseas currencies, International Monetary Fund reserve positions, special drawing rights and gold bullion.
Foreign securities, such as U.S. Treasuries, were valued at $369.98 billion as of the end of October, a decrease of $2.6 billion from a month earlier, accounting for 89.6 percent of total foreign reserves.
Meanwhile, the value of deposits was $18.87 billion at the end of October, an increase of $1.47 billion from the previous month.
South Korea was the world’s ninth-largest holder of foreign reserves at the end of September, according to the BOK.