SEOUL, Aug. 28 (Xinhua) -- South Korea's foreign currency deposits grew for a fourth straight month due to strong demand for the U.S. dollar, central bank data showed Friday.
The deposits, denominated in foreign currencies, rose 15.01 billion U.S. dollars from a month earlier to 128.34 billion dollars at the end of July, continuing to go up since April, according to the Bank of Korea (BOK).
The consecutive growth came as large corporations received export payments, while securities firms saw an influx of client deposits and funds from the issuance of foreign currency bonds.
Speculative buying of dollars, caused by a falling exchange rate, also contributed to the successive expansion.
The South Korean won versus U.S. dollar exchange rate decreased to 1,424 won per dollar at the end of July from 1,549.4 won tallied a month earlier.
The dollar-denominated deposit mounted 11.12 billion dollars to 108.92 billion dollars, and the Japanese yen deposit increased 1.5 billion dollars to 8.61 billion dollars last month.
The European currency deposit expanded 2.22 billion dollars to 8.06 billion dollars, and the Chinese yuan deposit added 0.02 billion dollars to 1.29 billion dollars.
Foreign currency deposits, possessed by companies, gained 13.57 billion dollars to 112.56 billion dollars in the cited month, while the individuals-owned deposits climbed 1.44 billion dollars to 15.77 billion dollars. ■