Korea's FX reserves slip in August to $367.53bn

South Korea's foreign exchange reserves slipped last month, ending its record-breaking streak that continued for 13 straight months, central bank data showed Wednesday.
The country's foreign reserves came in at US$367.53 billion as of end-August, falling by $490 million from the previous month, according Yonhap news agency quoting data by the Bank of Korea.
Foreign reserves consist of securities and deposits denominated in overseas currencies, International Monetary Fund reserve positions, special drawing rights and gold bullion.
The on-month change marks the first fall since June 2013, when the country's foreign reserves slipped to $326.44 billion from $328.1 billion due to a weakening euro and repayment of foreign exchange stabilization bonds.
The central bank explained that the softening euro and British pound offset management gains last month. The euro fell 1.6 percent against the dollar in August, while the pound declined 1.9 percent in the cited period.
About 58 percent of the country's foreign exchange reserves were dollar assets as of end-2013, according to central bank data.
As of end-July, South Korea was the world's seventh-largest holder of foreign reserves, trailing behind China, Japan, Switzerland, Russia, Taiwan and Brazil.