[THE INVESTOR] South Korea’s foreign exchange reserves rose slightly from a month earlier in September, central bank data showed on Oct. 6.

As of the end of September, the country’s forex reserves came to US$377.77 billion, up $2.31 billion from the previous month, the Bank of Korea said in a statement.

Forex reserves consist of securities and deposits denominated in overseas currencies, as well as International Monetary Fund reserve positions, special drawing rights and gold bullion.

The country’s reserve positions at the IMF stood at $1.8 billion as of the end of September compared with $1.81 billion a month earlier.

Holdings in gold bullion remained unchanged at $4.79 billion during the same period, the statement said.

Meanwhile, the BOK said South Korea was the world’s seventh-largest holder of forex reserves as of end-August, following China, Japan, Switzerland, Saudi Arabia, Taiwan and Russia, in that order.

(theinvestor@heraldcorp.com)