Korea's foreign exchange reserves rose for the fourth consecutive month in July to $416.5 billion.

[Infostock Daily=Reporter Park, Hyo-Sun] In July, Korea's foreign exchange reserves increased by nearly $5.8 billion (about 6.9 trillion won).

On August 5th, the Bank of Korea (BOK) stated that foreign exchange reserves rose by $5.77 billion reached to $416.53 billion as of the end of July.

The BOK explained that foreign exchange reserves increased as profits from operating foreign currency assets were generated and the weak U.S. dollar increased the dollar conversion value of other currency-denominated foreign currency assets. The dollar index, which reflects the value of the US dollar against the six major currencies, fell 4.6 percent in July.

This marked the fourth consecutive month that the nation's foreign exchange reserves rose to a new record high following April (+3.77 billion USD), May (+3.33 billion USD) and June (+3.44 billion USD). In March, the exchange rate plummeted by about $9 billion due to the rapid increase in the exchange rate due to the spread of novel coronavirus infections (Covid 19). 

In terms of assets, securities, which account for the largest portion of foreign exchange, increased by $6.79 billion, or 91.1%).

Bank deposits (24.86 billion USD) fell by $1.18 billion, while International Monetary Fund (IMF) positions (4.37 billion USD) and IMF special drawing rights (3.13 billion USD) increased by $120 million and $50 million, respectively.

Gold was $4.79 billion, the same as in the previous month, because it does not reflect the market price and marks it at the time of purchase.

The country's foreign exchange reserves stood at $410.8 billion as of the end of June, ranking ninth in the world. China (3.1123 trillion USD), Japan (1.3832 trillion USD) and Switzerland (961.8 billion USD) ranked first to third in order.

Reporter Park, Hyo-Sun hs1351@infostock.co.kr