Foreign exchange reserves of US$428.82 billion, rising for five months…Up one rank to 9th in the world

Last month, foreign exchange reserves were recorded at US$428.82 billion. Driven by increased investment income, they have risen for five consecutive months.

The Bank of Korea said on the 5th that as of the end of October, South Korea's foreign exchange reserves amounted to US$428.82 billion, up US$6.8 billion from the previous month (US$422.02 billion).

Foreign exchange reserves had fallen to a low of about US$404.6 billion at the end of May, the lowest in about five years, but have increased for five consecutive months since then. A Bank of Korea official explained the increase by saying, "Investment income rose, and new foreign-currency Foreign Exchange Stabilization Fund bonds were issued."

By asset type, securities such as government and corporate bonds stood at US$377.96 billion, down US$460 million. IMF (International Monetary Fund) special drawing rights (SDR) also decreased by US$70 million to US$15.71 billion. Instead, deposits rose by US$7.4 billion to US$25.94 billion, offsetting those declines.

Gold is stated at the purchase price rather than market value, so it remained unchanged from the previous month at US$4.79 billion.

South Korea's foreign exchange reserves were ranked 9th in the world as of the end of September (US$422.0 billion).

China ranked first with US$3.3387 trillion. Japan (US$1.3413 trillion), Switzerland (US$1.0545 trillion), Russia (US$713.3 billion), India (US$700.1 billion), Taiwan (US$602.9 billion), Germany (US$511.0 billion), and Saudi Arabia (US$450.5 billion) followed.

Shin Yong-hyun, Hankyung.com reporter yonghyun@hankyung.com