Foreign currency deposits at banks in South Korea fell in August from a month earlier as exporters decreased their deposits in the US dollar and Japanese yen, central bank data showed Friday.

Outstanding foreign currency deposits held by banks here reached $67.14 billion at the end of August, down $1.97 billion from a month earlier, according to the data compiled by the Bank of Korea.

Broken down, foreign currency deposits held by domestic banks came to $57.41 billion in August, down from $59.38 billion in July. The deposits at foreign lenders operating here stood at $9.73 billion, unchanged from July.
 

Foreign deposits include those held by foreigners who have stayed in South Korea for more than six months, as well as foreign companies operating here.

The BOK attributed the on-month decline to a decrease in deposits in the greenback and the Japanese yen.

By currency, deposits in US dollars fell to $58.33 billion in August from $59.03 billion in July. Euro-denominated deposits came to $2.39 billion in August from $2.61 billion in July. Yen deposits were tallied at $3.75 billion in August from $4.47 billion in July, the data showed.

By holder, companies held $55.33 billion in foreign currency deposits in August, down from $56.54 billion a month earlier. Deposits held by individuals came to $11.81 billion in August, also down from $12.57 billion tallied in July, it said. (Yonhap)