Data from the Bank of Korea (BOK) revealed on Friday that foreign currency deposits experienced a decrease in August as exports settlements and overseas investments increased. This marks the end of a three-month period of growth.
The total amount of foreign currency-denominated deposits held by residents, which includes local citizens, foreigners staying in South Korea for more than six months and foreign companies, was $99.1 billion at the end of August, down $5.9 billion from the previous month. This figure excludes interbank foreign currency deposits.
The deposits of U.S. dollars dropped by $4.82 billion to $83 billion, Japanese yen-denominated deposits decreased by $30 million to $8.28 billion, euro-denominated deposits fell by $790 million to $5.23 billion, and Chinese yuan-denominated deposits dropped by $140 million to $1.24 billion.
Corporate deposits totaled $84.44 billion as of August, down $5.24 billion from the previous month, with individual holdings falling by $660 million to $14.66 billion.