SEOUL, Aug. 3 (Yonhap) — South Korea’s foreign reserves rose for two consecutive months in July as the declining value of the U.S. dollar boosted the conversion value of assets held in other currencies and increased returns from investments, according to data from the Bank of Korea (BOK) released Thursday.
The country’s foreign reserves totaled $421.80 billion at the end of July, an increase of $350 million from the previous month.
The BOK attributed the rise to the dollar’s depreciation last month, which increased the converted value of assets denominated in other currencies.
The dollar index, which measures the greenback’s value against major peers, decreased by 1.7 percent in July.
Foreign reserves consist 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 $376.53 billion at the end of July, a rise of $890 million from the previous month. These assets accounted for 89.3 percent of total foreign reserves, the data showed.
The value of deposits dropped by $600 million to $20.96 billion at the end of July.
South Korea was the world’s eighth-largest holder of foreign reserves at the end of June, according to the BOK.
sam@yna.co.kr
(END)