Foreign currency deposits in the Republic of Korea broke previous records for a third straight month, propelled by a sharp increase in U.S. dollar holdings from large corporations, securities firms and public enterprises, central bank data showed Wednesday.
Outstanding foreign currency deposits, held by residents, jumped 14.09 billion U.S. dollars from a month earlier to 154.71 billion dollars at the end of September, according to the Bank of Korea.
It marked the highest since the central bank started compiling the data in June 2012, extending its record-breaking streak that began in July.
The U.S. dollar-denominated deposits spiked 12.99 billion dollars to 132.90 billion dollars, smashing previous records for a fourth consecutive month.
It was driven by large corporations receiving trade payments, inflows of investor deposits from securities firms, and foreign-currency bond issuance funds raised by public enterprises.
Japanese yen deposits climbed 0.55 billion dollars to 9.49 billion dollars, and euro-denominated deposits grew 0.37 billion dollars to 9.53 billion dollars.
Corporate deposits expanded 13.11 billion dollars to 136.60 billion dollars, hitting a record high for three successive months, while individual deposits added 0.98 billion dollars to 18.11 billion dollars.
ROK foreign currency deposits break records for 3rd month in September
