S. Korea's FX reserves hit fresh high in April

South Korea’s foreign exchange reserve hit a new high of $452.31 billion at the end of April on the weakening U.S. dollar that buoyed the value of non-dollar-denominated assets.

The country’s FX reserve grew $6.18 billion from a month ago to $452.31 billion last month, breaking the previous record-high amount at $447.56 billion in February, according to data from the Bank of Korea on Thursday.

The central bank attributed the gain in forex coffers to the weaker U.S. dollar that buoyed the value of non-dollar-denominated assets. The U.S. dollar index against a basket of major six currencies retreated 2.9 percent on month to 90.61 in April.

Securities, which make up a bulk of the total FX reserve, added $6.12 billion from the previous month to $412.1 billion in April.

The special drawing rights from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) came at $3.53 billion, up $20 million from a month earlier. The reserve position, or portion of required quota of currency held with the IMF that can be withdrawn, rose $100 million to $4.69 billion.

Cash deposits in foreign bank accounts, however, declined $50 million to $27.22 billion.

Gold bullion holdings, whose value is recorded at purchase price, remained unchanged at $4.79 billion.

As of the end of April, South Korea was the world’s ninth largest holder of foreign exchange reserves. China ranked top with $3.17 trillion, followed by Japan at $1.37 trillion and Switzerland at $1.52 trillion.

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