S. Korea’s foreign currency deposits see $5.1b drop in Oct.

South Korea’s foreign currency deposits decreased to $98.97 billion in October 2024, down by $5.1 billion from the previous month, according to the latest data from the Bank of Korea (BOK) on Sunday. This is the first drop in five months due to lower demand for the U.S. dollar deposit.

The deposits, denominated in various foreign currencies, declined $5.1 billion from a month earlier to 98.97 billion dollars at the end of October, following a surge for the past four months.

The US dollar-dominated deposits, the largest component, fell by $3.1 billion to $82.74 billion, primarily due to decreased demand from export and import businesses amid higher exchange rates and increased foreign exchange sales.

The Japanese yen, the euro and the Chinese yuan-dominated deposits also shrank to $9.8 billion, $4.18 billion, and $1.06 billion, respectively.

Foreign currency deposit, owned by companies, fell to $84.28 billion.

Attribution: Bank of Korea report

Subediting: Y.Yasser