SEOUL (Commodity Online) : South Korea's central bank, Bank of Korea (BOK) on Tuesday said country’s foreign exchange reserves rose to the second-highest level ever in October mainly due to a rise in the dollar-converted value of assets denominated in other currencies.
In a statement issued here, BOK said country’s foreign reserves in October amounted to $264.19 billion, marking a month-on-month rise of $9.94 billion.
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The amount of foreign reserves, which stayed on the rise for the eighth straight month, hit the highest level since March 2008 when it marked a record high of $264.25 billion.
The amount of the monthly gain hit the third- largest in October, according to the BOK.
The BOK said the October rise can be attributed to multiple favorable factors, such as retrieving $1.5 billion in maturing dollar funds from local banks and $800 million from the National Pension Service.
The BOK also attributed the gain to a weaker dollar, which boosted up the converted value of assets denominated in other currencies.
The upward trend in the reserves is likely to continue with the current account remaining in black and foreign currency liquidity previously distributed to banks being retrieved, the bank further explained.
The bank also expected that the nation's foreign exchange reserves are likely to hit a record high in November if the dollar continues to wane at this pace.
As of the end of August, South Korea was the world's sixth-largest holder of foreign exchange reserves.
