Seoul:South Korea's foreign currency deposits have hit a new record for the third consecutive month in September, driven by a significant increase in U.S. dollar holdings by large corporations, securities firms, and public enterprises, as indicated by data from the central bank.

According to NAMPA, outstanding foreign currency deposits held by residents surged by 14.09 billion U.S. dollars from the previous month, reaching a total of 154.71 billion dollars at the end of September. This marks the highest level since the Bank of Korea (BOK) began tracking these figures in June 2012, continuing a record-breaking trend that started in July.

The increase was primarily fueled by U.S. dollar-denominated deposits, which rose by 12.99 billion dollars to reach 132.90 billion dollars, setting a new record for the fourth month in a row. This growth was attributed to large corporations receiving trade payments, investor deposit inflows from securities firms, and funds raised through foreign-currency bond issuances by public enterprises.

Japanese yen deposits increased by 0.55 billion dollars to 9.49 billion dollars, and euro-denominated deposits rose by 0.37 billion dollars to 9.53 billion dollars. Corporate deposits saw an expansion of 13.11 billion dollars, reaching 136.60 billion dollars, marking a record high for the third straight month. Meanwhile, individual deposits grew by 0.98 billion dollars to 18.11 billion dollars.