Foreign Reserves Drop for Second Straight Month

South Korea's foreign exchange reserves have experienced a decline for the second consecutive month, primarily due to the strengthening U.S. dollar. According to the latest data from the Bank of Korea (BOK), the nation's foreign exchange reserves stood at $415.39 billion at the end of November, a decrease of $300 million from the previous month.

This marks the second consecutive month of decline, following October's $4.28 billion drop. A BOK official explained that while operating profits were generated and foreign currency deposits at financial institutions increased, the dollar-denominated value of other foreign currency assets declined due to the strong U.S. dollar.

In November, the U.S. dollar index rose approximately 2.0 percent, a slower pace than the 3.6 percent increase recorded in October. Breaking down the reserves by asset type, securities, including government and corporate bonds, fell by $860 million to $372.39 billion, while deposits increased by $700 million to $19.13 billion.

Special Drawing Rights (SDRs) with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) dropped by $150 million to $14.9 billion. Gold reserves, recorded at their purchase price rather than market value, remained unchanged at $4.79 billion. As of the end of October, South Korea's foreign reserves ranked ninth in the world at $415.7 billion.