The Bank of Korea on Jan. 4 said in a report that foreign currency reserves reached USD 423.2 billion late last month. (iclickart) *[Unauthorized reproduction and redistribution of the above photo is strictly prohibited under copyright laws and regulations.]

By Margareth Theresia

Korea's foreign currency reserves have grown for two straight months.

In a report, the Bank of Korea said the amount was USD 423.16 billion as of the end of last month, up USD 7.06 billion from USD 416.1 billion in the previous month.

The amount began to rise in November last year after three consecutive months of decline from August to October.

"Despite a temporary shortage of foreign reserves due to the currency swap with the National Pension Service, the dollar's declining value affected the purchase of USD assets and raised the dollar-converted value of holdings denominated in other currencies," the bank said.

This means that the greenback's 2.8% decline last month based on the standard USD index led to a rise in the converted value of holdings denominated in other currencies.

Securities accounted for 87.4% of the reserves with USD 369.69 billion, deposits 6.9% with USD 29.35 billion, special drawing rights 3.5% with USD 14.84 billion, gold 1.1% with USD 4.79 billion and the International Monetary Fund's reserve position 1.1% with USD 4.49 billion.

Korea as of the end of November last year ranked ninth in foreign exchange reserves.

China topped the rankings with USD 3.11 trillion, followed by Japan with USD 1.22 trillion, Switzerland USD 905.9 billion, Russia USD 567.3 billion, India USD 553.2 billion, Taiwan USD 552.2 billion, Saudi Arabia USD 471 billion and Hong Kong USD 423.2 billion.

margareth@korea.kr