Foreign currency deposits rebound in April to snap three-month decline

Dollar bills are stacked on top of each other at Hana Bank’s counterfeit response center in Jung District, central Seoul, on May 7. [NEWS1]

 

Foreign currency deposits in Korea rebounded in April to snap a three-month decline, central bank data showed on Friday.

 

Outstanding foreign currency-denominated deposits held by residents stood at $110.68 billion at the end of April, up $8.51 billion from a month earlier, according to data from the Bank of Korea (BOK).

 


 

The figure had fallen for the third consecutive month through March.

 

Residents include Korean citizens, foreigners who have lived in the country for more than six months and foreign companies. The data excludes interbank deposits.

 

By currency, dollar-denominated deposits rose $7.68 billion to $93.32 billion, a turnaround from a $10.36 billion decline in the previous month.

 

Euro-denominated deposits increased $260 million to $6.57 billion, and Japanese yen deposits gained $400 million to $8.22 billion.

 

Corporate foreign currency deposits rose $8.08 billion to $94.88 billion, and individual holdings increased $430 million to $15.8 billion.

 

The BOK attributed the rise in dollar deposits to increased funds parked in brokerage accounts ready to be deployed into stocks.

Yonhap