SEOUL, July 4 (Xinhua) -- South Korean households' surplus fund grew for the second straight quarter due to higher deposits, central bank data showed Thursday.
The net surplus fund, or the value of financial assets minus financial debts possessed by households and non-profit organizations, stood at 77.6 trillion won (56.2 billion U.S. dollars) in the January-March quarter, up 47.8 trillion won (34.6 billion dollars) from three months earlier, according to the Bank of Korea (BOK).
The surplus fund expanded 10.1 trillion won (7.3 billion dollars) during the fourth quarter of last year.
Financial assets, such as deposits and securities, surged 40 trillion won (28.9 billion dollars) in the first quarter from three months earlier.
The deposit holdings soared 40.2 trillion won (29.1 billion dollars), but the possession of insurance and pension fell 23.9 trillion won (17.3 billion dollars).
The holdings of equity securities and investment fund gained 16 trillion won (11.6 billion dollars).
Financial liabilities declined 7.8 trillion won (5.6 billion dollars) in the first quarter compared to the previous quarter.
The BOK had left its policy rate unchanged at 3.50 percent since January last year, after raising it by 3.0 percentage points for the past one and a half years. ■
