South Korea's foreign exchange reserves dropped slightly from a month earlier last month but mostly due to a devaluation of non-U.S. dollar assets, the central bank said Thursday.

The country's foreign exchange reserves came to US$368.46 billion at the end of November, down $1.14 billion from the previous month, according to the Bank of Korea.

The drop was largely attributed to the recent appreciation of the U.S. greenback, which in turn led to a decline in the value of the country's foreign reserves held in other currencies.

The drop "is due to a decline in the U.S. dollar-denominated value of foreign reserves held in other currencies, such as the euro, caused by a recent appreciation of the U.S. dollar prompted by an anticipated U.S. rate hike," the BOK said in a press release.

Foreign exchange reserves consist of securities and deposits denominated in overseas currencies, as well as International Monetary Fund reserve positions, special drawing rights and gold bullion.

Foreign reserves held in securities, including overseas bonds, came to $336.48 billion as of end-November, gaining $1.88 billion from a month before, while overseas deposits slipped $2.95 billion to $22.39 billion over the cited period.

BOK's holdings of gold bullion came to $4.79 billion as of end-November, unchanged from the previous month.

As of end-October, the country was the world's seventh-largest holder of foreign exchange reserves, tracking China, Japan, Saudi Arabia, Switzerland, Taiwan and Russia. (Yonhap)