Foreign currency deposits fall for 2nd consecutive month in March

SEOUL, April 23 (Yonhap) — Foreign currency deposits in South Korea declined for the second straight month in March as corporate deposits fell due to overseas investments and import settlement payments, the central bank said Wednesday.

Outstanding foreign currency-denominated deposits held by residents stood at US$96.94 billion as of end-March, down $1.59 billion from a month earlier, according to data from the Bank of Korea (BOK).

It marked the second consecutive monthly decline following a $4.91 billion fall in February.

Residents include local citizens, foreigners who have stayed in South Korea for more than six months, and foreign companies. The data excludes interbank foreign currency deposits.

“Dollar-denominated corporate deposits fell due mainly to their rising overseas direct investments and payments for import settlement, while the decline in Euro-denominated deposits came as companies sought to realize gains amid a rise in the won-euro exchange rate,” the BOK said in a release.

Corporate deposits stood at $83.39 billion as of end-March, down $1.23 billion from the previous month, while individual holdings declined by $360 million to $13.55 billion.

By currency, dollar-denominated deposits fell $1.42 billion to $83.09 billion, and Euro-denominated deposits dropped by $50 million to $4.11 billion.

Japanese yen-denominated deposits, however, went up $110 million to $7.87 billion, the data showed.