foreign reserves-January tally

South Korea's foreign reserves grow in Jan. on weak dollar

SEOUL, Feb. 3 (Yonhap) -- South Korea's foreign reserves grew for the third straight month in January, as the dollar's fall led to a rise in the converted value of holdings denominated in other currencies, central bank data showed Friday.

The country's foreign reserves had come to US$429.97 billion as of end-January, up $6.81 billion from the previous month, according to the data provided by the Bank of Korea (BOK).

The increase was driven by a weak dollar that bolstered the dollar-converted value of other currency-based assets.

The dollar index that gauges the currency's value against major peers fell 1.5 percent in January, the central bank said.

Foreign reserves consist of securities and deposits denominated in overseas currencies, International Monetary Fund reserve positions, special drawing rights and gold bullion.

Foreign securities, such as U.S. Treasuries, had been valued at $371.42 billion as of end-January, which accounted for 86.4 percent of total foreign reserves, the data showed.

The value of deposits stood at $34.17 billion, which made up 7.9 percent of the total.

South Korea had been ranked the world's ninth-largest holder of foreign reserves as of the end of December, the BOK said.

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