S. Korea's USD deposits hit record high in October

The U.S. dollar-denominated deposits in South Korea hit a record high last month as exporters deposited export proceedings in bank accounts, central bank data showed Tuesday.

Deposits denominated in foreign currencies came in at 63.4 billion U.S. dollars as of end-October, up 4.21 billion dollars from the previous month, according to the Bank of Korea (BOK).

The foreign currency deposits refer to bank deposits by local residents including South Koreans and foreigners staying in the country for more than six months.

The dollar deposits reached a new monthly high of 49.45 billion dollars at the end of October, up 5.98 billion dollars from a month before.

The surge in dollar deposits came as exporters deposited export proceedings amid the South Korean currency's ascent to the dollar. The won/dollar exchange rate declined 3.1 percent in October from the previous month.

The stronger local currency delayed exporters to convert the dollar proceedings into the local currency.

The Chinese yuan-denominated deposits reached 7.19 billion dollars as of end-October, down 2.24 billion dollars from a month earlier. It was the lowest since December 2013 when the figure recorded 6.68 billion dollars.

The Japanese yen deposits rose 0.17 billion dollars from a month earlier to 3.3 billion dollars as of end-October, and the euro deposits increased 0.23 billion dollars to 2.32 billion dollars. Endit