South Korea's foreign exchange reserves dwindled for a second consecutive month in December largely due to a devaluation of non-U.S. dollar assets, the central bank said Wednesday.

The country's foreign exchange reserves came to $367.96 billion at the end of last month, down $500 million from the previous month, according to the Bank of Korea.

From a year earlier, the total gained $4.4 billion. 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.

The on-month drop in foreign reserves was largely attributed to a decline in the value of foreign exchange reserves held in non-U.S. dollar currencies caused by a recent appreciation of the greenback.

Foreign reserves held in securities, including overseas bonds, came to $345.24 billion at the end of December, up $8.77 billion from a month earlier.

Overseas deposits, on the other hand, slipped $9.12 billion to $13.27 billion over the cited period, marking a second consecutive month of drop.

The BOK's holdings of gold bullion remained unchanged from the previous month, standing at $4.79 billion as of end-December, it said.

As of end-November, the country was the world's sixth-largest holder of foreign exchange reserves, moving up a notch from the previous month and tracking China, Japan, Saudi Arabia, Switzerland and Taiwan. (Yonhap)