S. Korea's FX reserves hit 15-month high in Sept.

SEOUL, Oct. 6 (Yonhap) -- South Korea's foreign exchange reserves rose to a
15-month high in September as a weaker U.S. dollar boosted the dollar value of
assets in other currencies and investment profits rose, the central bank said
Tuesday.
The nation's foreign reserves totaled US$254.25 billion as of the end of
September, up $8.79 billion from the previous month and marking the seventh
straight monthly gain, according to the Bank of Korea (BOK).
The foreign reserves climbed to the highest level since June 2008 when the
corresponding figure reached $258.1 billion, the BOK added.
Foreign reserves consist of securities and deposits denominated in overseas
currencies, along with International Monetary Fund reserve positions, special
drawing rights and gold bullion.
"The reserves are widely expected to be on the upward trend as the current
account will likely remain in black and foreign currency liquidity supplied by
authorities to banks would continue to be retrieved," Moon Han-geun, an official
at the BOK, told reporters.
The government retrieved about $1.5 billion in maturing dollar funds that it
provided to local banks, and the state-run National Pension Service repaid $640
million to the BOK as part of its currency swap arrangement with the central
bank.
It added investment profits gained, and a weaker U.S. dollar boosted the dollar
value of assets in other currencies.
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) allocated $290 million in special drawing
rights (SDRs), an international type of reserve currency, to South Korea in
September in accordance with its pledge in an April G-20 summit to provide
liquidity to economies under a foreign currency crunch. Korea received $3.38
billion in SDRs from the IMF in August.
The continued rise in the FX reserves comes as the Korean currency hit a one-year
high against the greenback on Monday. The won has gained about 34 percent per the
dollar since March.
Last year, South Korea's foreign exchange reserves declined for eight straight
months before rebounding in December as authorities unloaded dollar holdings to
stem the won's fall and ease the deepening credit squeeze.
Since October, the BOK has provided foreign currency liquidity to cash-strapped
banks by tapping foreign exchange reserves or a $30 billion currency swap line
with the U.S. Federal Reserve.
As of the end of August, 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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