South Korea`s foreign exchange reserves continued to rise in September driven by investment gains in foreign assets and foreign exchange benefits from weakening in the U.S. dollar, said the central bank Thursday.

As of late September, the nation’s foreign exchange reserves came to US$377.77 billion, up $2.31 billion from the previous month, the Bank of Korea (BOK) said in a monthly report. The reserves have extended gains for three consecutive months to refresh monthly record for the second straight month.

The rise is attributable to “improved returns from investment in foreign assets including profits from securities trades and interest earnings, as well as increased value of non-dollar assets after conversion,” said an official at the International Department in the central bank.

The greenback weakened against other major currencies except for the British pound last month after the U.S. Federal Reserve delayed hike action. According to Seoul Money Brokerage, the euro and the Japanese yen climbed 0.7 percent and 1.8 percent against the U.S. dollar, respectively, over the previous month. The Australian dollar also strengthened 1.6 percent on month compared to the greenback.

Of the foreign exchange reserves in September, securities including stocks and bonds were tallied at $342.7 billion, down $2.1 billion from the previous month, while deposits added $4.4 billion to $25.9 billion.

International Monetary Fund (IMF) special drawing right (SDR) increased $30 million to $2.58 billion on month, and IMF reserve positions stood at $1.8 billion, down $10 million from a month earlier.

Holdings in gold bullion have stayed the same at $4.79 billion in September over last month.

According to the BOK, Korea had the seventh-largest stockpile of foreign exchange reserves in the world as of late August. Despite a $15.9 billion decrease on month, China remained top with $3.19 trillion in foreign exchange reserves, followed by Japan with $1.26 trillion, Switzerland with $687.6 billion, Saudi Arabia with $562.1 billion, Taiwan with $435.9 billion and Russia with $395.2 billion.

By Lee Sang-duk

[ⓒ Pulse by Maeil Business News Korea & mk.co.kr, All rights reserved]