S. Korea's foreign reserves reduce 1st time in six months

South Korea's foreign reserves fell for the first time in six months as a strong U.S. dollar reduced the value of non-dollar assets, central bank data showed Wednesday.

Foreign reserves stood at 370.82 billion U.S. dollars as of end- July, down 3.93 billion dollars from a month earlier, according to the Bank of Korea (BOK). It was the first reduction in six months.

The dollar's appreciation to its peers, such as the euro, reduced the value of non-dollar assets, the bank explained.

The dollar rose 5 percent to the Australian dollar last month, with the greenback gaining 2.5 percent to the euro, 1.3 percent to the Japanese yen and 0.8 percent to the British pound respectively.

The foreign currency reserves consisted of 337.23 billion dollars of securities, 23.9 billion dollars of deposits, 4.79 billion dollars of gold bullion, 3.45 billion dollars of special drawing rights and 1.44 billion dollars of International Monetary Fund positions. Endi