SEOUL: Foreign currency deposits in the Republic of Korea rose for the second straight month in July as companies saved more U.S. dollar-denominated currency, central bank data showed Friday.

Korean news agency Yonhap reported that residents’ outstanding foreign currency-denominated deposits reached US$4.44 billion at end-July, up US$3.87 billion from the previous month, according to the data from the Bank of Korea.

Residents include local citizens, foreigners who have stayed in Korea for more than six months and foreign companies. The data excludes interbank foreign currency deposits. By currency, dollar-denominated deposits rose by US$4.57 billion to US$78.04 billion, and Japanese yen-denominated deposits fell by US$30 million to US$10.10 billion last month.

Euro-denominated deposits declined by US$440 million to US$4.13 billion, and Chinese yuan-denominated deposits also fell by US$170 million to US$1.01 billion, according to the data. Corporate deposits had come to US$79.33 billion as of July, up US$3.
85 billion from the previous month, with individual holdings rising by US$20 million to US$15.11 billion.

Source: Emirates News Agency