SEOUL, March 30 (Reuters) – The ratio of U.S. dollar-denominated assets in South Korea’s foreign exchange reserves climbed to the highest on record at the end of 2022 on the dollar’s rally during the year, the country’s central bank said on Thursday.
The Bank of Korea said in its annual report that U.S. dollar assets accounted for 72.0% of the total foreign exchange reserves, up from 68.3% a year before and the highest since 2007, when annual data began to be released by the central bank.
It said the increased ratio of dollar assets was related to the currency’s strength against most other currencies, although it did not disclose further details such as figures for other currencies.
South Korea’s foreign exchange reserves, measured in U.S. dollars, amounted to $423.16 billion at the end of 2022, marking the ninth-largest in the world, the central bank said.
The ratio of stocks rose to 11.4% of the total reserves at the end of 2022 from 10.4% a year before, also marking the highest on record, although it was still small compared to about 80% for bonds. (Reporting by Choonsik Yoo; Editing by Muralikumar Anantharaman)