S Korea's foreign reserves rise to 2nd-highest level in Oct.

South Korea's foreign exchange reserves rose to the second-highest level ever in October mainly due to a rise in the U.S. dollar-converted value of assets denominated in other currencies, the central bank said Tuesday.

According to the Bank of Korea (BOK), South Korea's foreign reserves in October amounted to 264.19 billion U.S. dollars, marking an month-on-month rise of 9.94 billion U.S. dollars.

The amount of foreign reserves, which stayed on the rise for the eighth straight month, hit the highest level since March 2008 when it marked a record high of 264.25 billion U.S. dollars, the BOK added.

The amount of the monthly gain hit the third- largest in October, according to the BOK.

The BOK said the October rise can be attributed to multiple favorable factors, such as retrieving 1.5 billion U.S. dollars in maturing dollar funds from local banks and 800 million U.S. dollars from the National Pension Service.

The BOK also attributed the gain to a weaker U.S. dollar, which boosted up the converted value of assets denominated in other currencies.

The upward trend in the reserves is likely to continue with the current account remaining in black and foreign currency liquidity previously distributed to banks being retrieved, the bank further explained.

The bank also expected that the nation's foreign exchange reserves are likely to hit a record high in November if the U.S. dollar continues to wane at this pace.

As of the end of August, South Korea was the world's sixth-largest holder of foreign exchange reserves.

Source:Xinhua