South Korea’s Ministry of Strategy and Finance Wednesday said country is expected to rank top in foreign reserve growth this year, mainly due to its improving trade surplus.
Ministry of Strategy and Finance, citing an IMF report said the country's foreign currency reserves to gain $43.7 billion in the first eight months of this year and expected the figure will climb by around $70 billion by the end of 2009.
24-Hour Online Forex Trading. Start with FREE practice account
The gains marked the highest increase tallied among the organization's 62 key members, with the size of South Korea's total reserve likely to hit $270 billion this year, the ministry said.
South Korea's foreign reserves remained near $201.7 billion in January, the ministry added.
The sharp increase in South Korea's foreign currency holding came as the country saw a huge trade surplus in the year, the ministry explained.
During the first 10 months of 2009, South Korea's trade surplus amounted to a record high of $34.6 billion.
As of the end of August, South Korea stood as the world's sixth-largest holder of foreign exchange reserves.
