The Bank of Korea on Nov. 5 said the country's foreign exchange reserves late last month reached USD 428.8 billion, up USD 6.8 billion from September. (iClickArt) (Unauthorized reproduction and redistribution of this image is prohibited under copyright law.)

By Lee Jihae

The Bank of Korea on Nov. 5 said foreign exchange reserves late last month reached USD 428.8 billion, up USD 6.8 billion from September.

This marked the fifth consecutive month of rise thanks to factors such as higher investment returns.

By asset type, securities accounted for USD 377.96 billion (88.1%), deposits USD 25.94 billion (6%), the International Monetary Fund's (IMF) special drawing rights USD 15.71 billion (3.7%), gold USD 4.79 billion (1.1%) and the IMF's reserve positions USD 4.41 billion (1%).

Gold prices were displayed at its purchase price and did not reflect market rates, thus its amount remained the same as in September.

As of late September, the nation ranked ninth worldwide in foreign currency holdings with USD 422 billion, rising after having stayed at No. 10 since March.

China had the world's most foreign currency reserves with USD 3.33 trillion, followed in order by Japan (USD 1.34 trillion), Switzerland (USD 1.54 trillion), Russia (USD 713.3 billion), India (USD 700.1 billion), Taiwan (USD 602.9 billion), Germany (USD 511 billion) and Saudi Arabia (USD 450.5 billion).

jihlee08@korea.kr