SEOUL: Foreign currency deposit in South Korea hit the lowest in 18 months as the strong U.S. dollar led domestic companies to withdraw and sell the dollar funds for the local currency, central bank data showed Monday.
Deposit denominated in foreign currencies amounted to 67.15 billion U.S. dollars as of end-March, down 6.53 billion dollars from a month earlier, according to the Bank of Korea (BOK).
It was the lowest since September 2017 as the dollar deposit sharply fell amid the strong dollar, which drove local companies to exchange the dollar for the domestic currency.
The won/dollar exchange rate closed at 1,135.1 won per dollar at the end of last month, up 10.4 won from a month earlier.
The dollar deposit reduced 5.92 billion dollars from a month earlier to 56.58 billion dollars as of end-March.
The Japanese yen-denominated deposit was down 0.42 billion dollars to 4.13 billion dollars in the same period, and the European single currency deposit shed 0.28 billion dollars to 3.43 billion dollars.
The Chinese yuan deposit rose 0.06 billion dollars to 1.25 billion dollars, and the deposit in other currencies, such as the British pound and the Australian dollar, added 0.03 billion dollars to 1.76 billion dollars.
The foreign currency deposit refers to deposits owned by local residents and companies as well as foreigners and foreign firms which stayed here for at least six months.
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