Korea’s foreign exchange reserve soared to a fresh high in February as the strength of the euro and the British pound boosted the conversion value of those assets, the central bank said Monday.

The country’s foreign reserves reached a record high of $315.8 billion as of the end of last month, up 4.46 billion from January, according to the Bank of Korea.

The previous record was $312.29 billion set in August last year. Asia’s fourth-largest economy saw its foreign reserves surpass the $300 billion mark for the first time in April of 2011 amid sustained inflows of foreign capital and robust exports.

“(The rise) results from an increase in the conversion value of the euro and the pound as well as profit from foreign-currency assets,” the BOK said in a statement.

In February, the euro appreciated 2.5 percent to the U.S. dollar, while the pound rose 1.2 percent against the greenback.

Foreign reserves consist of securities and deposits denominated in overseas currencies, along with the International Monetary Fund reserve positions, special drawing rights and gold bullion.

The amount of the central bank’s gold bullion stayed unchanged from the end of January.

As of end-January, South Korea was the world’s seventh-largest holder of foreign exchange reserves. 

(Yonhap News)