S. Korea's foreign reserves hit new record high in Jan.

SEOUL, Feb. 2 (Yonhap) -- South Korea's foreign exchange reserves reached a fresh
record high in January as investment profits increased, the central bank said
Tuesday.
The country's foreign reserves totaled US$273.69 billion as of the end of
January, up $3.7 billion from the previous month, according to the Bank of Korea
(BOK).
Last month, the foreign reserves climbed to the highest level since November,
when they reached $270.89 billion. In December the reserves fell due to the
decreased conversion value of the euro and the yen, but for the whole year of
2009, they rose by $68.77 billion, marking the largest full-year increase on
record.
Foreign reserves consist of securities and deposits denominated in overseas
currencies, along with International Monetary Fund reserve positions, special
drawing rights and gold bullion.
"Although a strong dollar brought down the conversion value of the euro, the
foreign reserves rose last month as investment profits gained," Moon Han-geun, an
official at the BOK, told reporters.
He added the state-run National Pension Service repaid $400 million to the BOK as
part of its currency swap arrangement with the central bank. Market players
speculated that a dollar-buying intervention might have contributed to the
January gain.
South Korea's foreign exchange reserves declined for the eighth consecutive month
in November 2008 as foreign exchange authorities unloaded dollar holdings to stem
the won's fall and ease the deepening credit squeeze.
As of the end of December, South Korea was the world's sixth-largest holder of
foreign exchange reserves after China, Japan, Russia, Taiwan and India.
sooyeon@yna.co.kr
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