Foreign currency deposits held by banks in South Korea dropped slightly from a month earlier in November, largely on local businesses taking advantage of favorable exchange rates, central bank data showed Thursday.

The outstanding foreign currency deposits held by banks here came to $74.87 billion as of the end of last month, down $3.67 billion from a month before, according to the data from the Bank of Korea.

It marked the first on-month drop since July, when the amount slipped $700 million from the previous month. Foreign currency deposits include those held by foreign residents who have stayed here for more than six months.

The drop came mostly from savings held by businesses, which dipped $3.78 billion from a month earlier to $58.06 billion at end-November.

Deposits held by individuals gained $110 million to $16.81 billion over the cited period.

"Savings in dollars shrank as businesses increased their selling on the strengthening of the US dollar against the Korean won," the BOK noted.

The US greenback traded for 1,181.2 won at end-November, up 1.5 percent from 1,163.4 won per dollar a month earlier, it added.

Savings held in US dollars dipped $3.52 billion to $63.96 billion as of end-November, while those held in Chinese yuan gained $10 million to $1.37 billion.

Foreign deposits in Japanese yen remained unchanged at $4.48 billion. (Yonhap)