As of the end of Nov., Korea's foreign exchange reserves stood at $430.66 billion, up $1.84 billion from a month earlier, the Bank of Korea (BOK) said on the 3rd. It is the first time the reserves have topped $430 billion in 3 years and 3 months since the end of May 2022 ($436.4 billion). The increase that began in June has continued. However, the monthly gain slowed from the previous month's $6.8 billion.
According to the Bank of Korea (BOK), foreign exchange reserves fell to the lowest level in about five years at the end of May ($404.6 billion), then increased by $5.61 billion in June, followed by ▲ $1.13 billion in July ▲ $4.95 billion in Aug. ▲ $5.73 billion in Sept. ▲ $6.8 billion in Oct. As of the end of Nov., the increase was smaller than at the end of Oct. ($6.8 billion).
Securities such as U.S. Government Bonds and corporate bonds, which account for the largest share of foreign exchange reserves, rose by $1.39 billion from a month earlier to $379.35 billion. They had fallen by $460 million at the end of Oct., then turned to an increase. The Bank of Korea (BOK) said "foreign currency management revenue increased."
In contrast, the increase in deposits shrank from $7.4 billion at the end of Oct. to $1.39 billion at the end of last month. The balance is $26.43 billion. Deposits are funds that financial institutions place with the Bank of Korea (BOK) to meet the Bank for International Settlements (BIS) capital adequacy ratio as their foreign currency deposits increase.
In addition, special drawing rights (SDR) increased by $20 million to $15.74 billion. Gold holdings were similar to the previous month at $4.79 billion.
Meanwhile, Korea's foreign exchange reserves ranked ninth among major countries as of the end of Oct. The gap with eighth-ranked Saudi Arabia is $6.8 billion.