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South Korea's foreign exchange reserves reached a new record high in December on
the back of an increase in investment profits and higher conversion value of
non-dollar assets, the central bank said Friday.
The country's foreign
reserves reached US$326.97 billion in December, up $880 million from the
previous month, according to the Bank of Korea (BOK).
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 central bank said that it posted higher investment
profits by managing the foreign exchange reserves and saw a gain in the
conversion value of non-dollar assets.
In December, the euro
appreciated 1.9 percent on-month to the dollar while the yen shed 4.3 percent to
the greenback.
Despite some fluctuations, the FX reserves have been on
the rise, aided by sound exports and inflows of foreign capital.
The
BOK also said it increased its holdings of gold to 84.4 tonnes, valued at $3.76
billion in November, the fourth purchase of the precious metal since July 2011.
The move aims to diversify its portfolio of foreign exchange reserves.
As of the end of November, South Korea was the world's seventh-largest holder of
foreign exchange reserves.