South Korea April FX reserves rise to 9-month high on management gains

[SEOUL] South Korea's foreign exchange reserves in April rose for a second month, to US$372.48 billion from US$369.84 billion in March, central bank data showed on Wednesday.

The Bank of Korea said the increase was mainly due to "management gains".

The central bank the appreciation of some currencies such as the Japanese yen and sterling against the dollar had contributed to the gains.

Thanks to gains, reserves in April stood at their highest since end-July.

The yen rose 4.0 per cent against the dollar in April while sterling firmed 1.6 per cent over the same period, the central bank said.

The central bank does not give a breakdown of what currencies it has in full.

In April, reserves in the form of deposits rose the most, by US$1.89 billion, standing at US$22.19 billion as of the end of last month. Securities make up the majority of South Korea's foreign exchange reserves, accounting for 91.6 per cent of the reserves as of end-April.

South Korea currently has the world's seventh largest foreign exchange reserves.

REUTERS