SEOUL, Jan 5 (Reuters) - South Korea's foreign exchange
reserves rose in December for the first time in nine months as
investment gains and rises in non-dollar assets more than offset
dollar-selling intervention, the central bank said on Monday.
The country's foreign exchange reserves rose to $201.2 billion at the end of December from $200.5 at the end of November, when the reserves were at the lowest since the end of January 2005, central bank data showed.
The Bank of Korea said in a statement the reserves rose last month because investment gains and strength in non-dollar currencies against the U.S. unit outweighed dollar injection into the local banking system and dollar-selling intervention.
A central bank official said local authorities had carried out moderate dollar selling to help stem the won's decline last month, but declined to provide the value.
'The authorities had stepped in to carry out smoothing operations,' the official said by telephone, declining to be named.
But South Korea's foreign reserves, which ranked sixth in the world at the end of November, shrank by $61.0 billion in all of 2008, marking the first annual drop since 1997 when they fell by $12.8 billion, the Bank of Korea's data showed.
The central bank said 89.6 percent of the reserves were invested in securities, followed by 10.0 percent deposited at financial institutions.
South Korea's foreign reserves ($ billion, at end-month):
Dec Nov Oct Sept Aug July June
201.22 200.51 212.25 239.67 243.20 247.52 258.20
(Reporting by Cheon Jong-woo; Editing by Yoo Choonsik and David Holmes) Keywords: KOREA ECONOMY/RESERVES (jongwoo.cheon@thomsonreuters.com; +82 2 3704 5665; Reuters Messaging;jongwoo.cheon.reuters.com@reuters.net) COPYRIGHT Copyright Thomson Reuters 2009. All rights reserved. The copying, republication or redistribution of Reuters News Content, including by framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Thomson Reuters.
The country's foreign exchange reserves rose to $201.2 billion at the end of December from $200.5 at the end of November, when the reserves were at the lowest since the end of January 2005, central bank data showed.
The Bank of Korea said in a statement the reserves rose last month because investment gains and strength in non-dollar currencies against the U.S. unit outweighed dollar injection into the local banking system and dollar-selling intervention.
A central bank official said local authorities had carried out moderate dollar selling to help stem the won's decline last month, but declined to provide the value.
'The authorities had stepped in to carry out smoothing operations,' the official said by telephone, declining to be named.
But South Korea's foreign reserves, which ranked sixth in the world at the end of November, shrank by $61.0 billion in all of 2008, marking the first annual drop since 1997 when they fell by $12.8 billion, the Bank of Korea's data showed.
The central bank said 89.6 percent of the reserves were invested in securities, followed by 10.0 percent deposited at financial institutions.
South Korea's foreign reserves ($ billion, at end-month):
Dec Nov Oct Sept Aug July June
201.22 200.51 212.25 239.67 243.20 247.52 258.20
(Reporting by Cheon Jong-woo; Editing by Yoo Choonsik and David Holmes) Keywords: KOREA ECONOMY/RESERVES (jongwoo.cheon@thomsonreuters.com; +82 2 3704 5665; Reuters Messaging;jongwoo.cheon.reuters.com@reuters.net) COPYRIGHT Copyright Thomson Reuters 2009. All rights reserved. The copying, republication or redistribution of Reuters News Content, including by framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Thomson Reuters.