Foreign currency deposits at banks in South Korea fell in January on a decline in corporate holdings of the US dollar deposits, central bank data showed Thursday.

Outstanding foreign currency-denominated deposits held by residents amounted to $89.3 billion as of end-January, down $4.8 billion from the previous month, according to the data from the Bank of Korea (BOK).

The decline came as companies repaid their US dollar-denominated debts last month, the BOK said.

Residents include local citizens, foreigners staying here for more than six months and foreign companies. The data excludes interbank foreign currency deposits.

The dollar-denominated deposits fell by $3.8 billion on-month to $76.16 billion last month. Euro deposits also declined by $350 million to $4.36 billion.

Corporate deposits declined by $4.71 billion to $69.68 billion, and deposits held by individuals fell by $110 million on-month to $19.7 billion, according to the data. (Yonhap)