Foreign currency deposits rise by US$970 mln in March

SEOUL, April 10 (Yonhap) -- South Korean residents' foreign currency savings
increased by US$970 million in March as a record trade surplus helped boost
exporter earnings, the central bank said Friday.
The outstanding balance of foreign currency deposits by residents amounted to
$24.79 billion as of the end of March, compared with $23.82 billion a month
earlier, according to the Bank of Korea (BOK).
South Korea's trade surplus reached a record $4.6 billion in March as imports
declined faster than exports, prompting the local currency to gain almost 11
percent to the greenback last month.
U.S. dollar deposits gained by $440 million to $20.74 billion and Japanese
yen-denominated savings increased $90 million to $1.88 billion. Euro savings,
meanwhile, rose $350 million to $1.8 billion, the BOK added.
sooyeon@yna.co.kr
(END)