South Korea’s foreign reserves hit new high

September 5th, 2012 - 3:00 pm ICT by IANS  

Seoul, Sep 5 (IANS) South Korea’s foreign currency reserves hit a new high last month due to a rise in conversion value of non-dollar assets and a growth in investment returns, a report by the central bank showed Wednesday.

Foreign reserves reached $316.88 billion as of the end of August, up $2.53 billion dollars from a month earlier, according to the Bank of Korea (BOK).

The August figure breached the previous record high of $316.84 billion tallied in April. The reserves stayed above the $300-billion mark since April 2011 when it topped the level for the first time, reported Xinhua.

The $300-billion mark is viewed as the psychologically-important level to protect the local financial market from potential foreign capital exodus from the country that may come from a possible financial crisis.

The BOK attributed the August growth to a rise in non-dollar denominated assets and a gain in investment returns. The European single currency appreciated 2.0 percent against the US dollar last month, while the British pound’s ascent versus the greenback reached 0.5 percent during the month.

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