Korea’s foreign currency deposits rise in December

SEOUL, 20th January, 2025 (WAM) — Foreign currency deposits rose for the first time in three months in December, the Bank of Korea (BOK) said Monday.

Yonhap News Agency quoted data from BOK as saying that outstanding foreign currency-denominated deposits held by residents came to US$101.3 billion as of end-December, up $2.87 billion from a month earlier.

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

December’s increase came as companies secured a larger amount of fund deposits for import settlements, investment and other purposes, the BOK said.

Corporate deposits amounted to $87.12 billion as of end-December, up $3.17 billion from the previous month, while individual holdings shrank by $300 million to $14.18 billion.