S. Korea's foreign exchange reserves resume record-breaking trend

South Korea's foreign exchange reserves resumed a record-breaking trend in nine months thanks to a rise in conversion value of non-dollar assets such as the euro, central bank data showed Thursday.

Foreign reserves amounted to 369.9 billion U.S. dollars as of end-April, up 7.15 billion dollars from a month earlier, according to the Bank of Korea. It marked a new record high, topping the prior high of 368 billion dollars tallied in July 2014.

After peaking at 368 billion dollars in July last year, the foreign reserves continued to fall to 362.2 billion dollars in January. The reserves rebounded in February, rising to the fresh high in April.

The rising reserves came as non-dollar assets, including the euro and the British pound, appreciated to the dollar, increasing the conversion of the non-dollar assets.

The European single currency appreciated 2.6 percent to the dollar in April, and the pound and the Australian dollar advanced 4.2 percent and 4.5 percent each versus the greenback last month.

South Korea's foreign currency reserves consisted of 339.51 billion dollars of securities, 20.97 billion dollars of deposits, 4.79 billion dollars of gold bullion, 20.97 billion dollars of special drawing rights and 1.46 billion dollars of International Monetary Fund positions.

As of end-March, South Korea ranked the world's sixth-largest holder of foreign reserves, following China, Japan, Saudi Arabia, Switzerland and China's Taiwan. Endi