By Kim Hyelin and Yoon Sojung

The nation's foreign exchange reserves again set a record high last month.

The Bank of Korea on Sept. 3 said the reserves in August recorded USD 418.9 billion, up USD 2.42 billion from the previous month to mark the third record-high of its kind this year following those set in June and January.

The central bank explained that the rise last month was attributed to increased returns on foreign assets and the weak U.S. dollar that helped raise the value of other currencies when converted into the greenback.

By asset type, securities including government and public agency bonds stood at USD 382.79 billion, accounting for 91.4% of the reserves and up USD 3.41 billion from July. Deposits recorded USD 23.82 billion to account for 5.7%, but were down USD 1.04 billion from the previous month.

Korea's reserve position, or the part of the required quota of currency held with the IMF that can be withdrawn, was worth USD 4.4 billion, accounting for 1.1% of the reserves and up USD 40 million from July. The country's special drawing right was valued at USD 3.15 billion (0.8%), up USD 30 million, and gold remained unchanged at USD 4.79 billion.

As of end of July, Korea ranked ninth in the world in foreign currency holdings with USD 416.5 billion. China topped the list with USD 3.154 trillion, followed by Japan with USD 1.402 trillion and Switzerland USD 1.117 trillion. 

kimhyelin211@korea.kr