Last month, the resident foreign currency deposits decreased by $680 million (approximately 931.2 billion won) compared to the previous month, primarily due to U.S. dollar and corporations deposits.
According to the Bank of Korea's report on the 'Trends of Resident Foreign Currency Deposits in April' released on the 26th, the balance of resident foreign currency deposits at foreign exchange banks as of the end of last month was $96.26 billion. After increasing throughout February and March, it declined in April.
Resident foreign currency deposits refer to the domestic foreign currency deposits of nationals, domestic corporations, foreigners residing in Korea for more than six months, and foreign corporations that have entered the domestic market.
Specifically, corporations deposits decreased by $980 million, while individual deposits increased by $300 million. The rise in individual deposits is interpreted as individuals purchasing in anticipation of a rise in the won-dollar exchange rate.
In addition, dollar deposits recorded a decrease of $2.08 billion, standing at $81.01 billion, while euro deposits increased by $970 million to $5.08 billion. Yuan deposits rose by $310 million to $1.17 billion.
The Bank of Korea noted that 'the decrease in dollar deposits was due to corporations paying for raw material purchases and repaying borrowing funds,' adding that 'the increase in euro deposits was due to temporary deposits related to current transactions following the euro's strength.' Regarding yuan deposits, it added that 'the increase was due to some corporations receiving dividends.'