SEOUL (Reuters) – South Korea’s foreign exchange reserves fell for a second month in September and by the biggest amount in four months, central bank data showed on Friday, as authorities intervened in the currency market to counter the won’s weakness.
The country’s FX reserves stood at $414.12 billion at the end of September, down $4.18 billion from $418.30 billion at end-August, according to the Bank of Korea (BOK).
It was the biggest monthly decline since May and the smallest total amount since October 2022.
The fall was due to a decrease in the converted value of non-dollar assets and measures to ease volatility in the foreign exchange market, including a currency swap programme with the country’s pension fund, the BOK said.
The won weakened 2.04% against the dollar in September, while the U.S. dollar index, a measure of the greenback’s value against six major currencies, rose 2.46%.
(Reporting by Jihoon Lee; Editing by Kim Coghill)
