The Bank of Korea on Sept. 3 said its foreign reserves on Aug. 31 reached USD 442.28 billion, up from USD 427.95 billion in July. (Yonhap News)

By Kim Seon Ah

Foreign exchange reserves last month rose by over USD 14 billion largely due to abundant liquidity on the domestic foreign currency market thanks to strong semiconductor exports.

The Bank of Korea on Sept. 3 said the amount on Aug. 31 was USD 442.28 billion, up from USD 427.95 billion in July, to post the highest monthly rise since the bank began compiling such data.

The higher figure was thanks to a surge in foreign currecy deposits held by financial institutions, investment returns from foreign currency assets and the rise in the USD-equivalent value of such assets denominated in other currencies.

By asset type, securities held the largest share at USD 387.07 billion, or 87.5% of the total.

This was followed by deposits worth USD 30.3 billion (6.9%), special drawing rights of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) USD 15.77 billion (3.6%), gold USD 4.79 billion (1.1%) and an IMF position of USD 4.34 billion (1%).

sofiakim218@korea.kr