The Republic of Korea’s foreign reserves increased slightly in December compared to the previous month but recorded their lowest year-end level in five years, according to data released by the central bank on Monday.
Data from the Bank of Korea (BOK), cited by Yonhap, revealed that the country’s foreign reserves stood at $415.6B at the end of December, a rise of $21M from the previous month.
A BOK official explained that the growth was due to higher deposit values held by financial institutions and improved returns from their operations.
However, the year-end figure represented a significant drop from $420.15B recorded at the end of 2023 and was the lowest year-end level since 2019, when reserves stood at $408.82B.
The BOK attributed the annual decline to government measures aimed at addressing recent fluctuations in the foreign exchange market.
