Seoul: Daily foreign exchange (FX) trading by banks in South Korea hit an all-time high in the first quarter, driven by increased cross-border trading of stocks and bonds and hedging, central bank data showed Wednesday.

According to Yonhap News Agency, average daily FX turnover, including derivatives trading, amounted to US$102.65 billion in the January-March period, representing a 21.3 percent increase from the previous quarter's $84.62 billion. This marked the highest quarterly level since the central bank began compiling such data under the current statistical standards in 2008.

The Bank of Korea (BOK) attributed the sharp rise in FX turnover to the significant increase in foreign investors' trading of local stocks and bonds, coupled with heightened volatility in the currency market. Average daily spot FX turnover rose 26.2 percent on-quarter to $42.39 billion, while derivatives trading grew by 18.1 percent to $60.27 billion during the cited period, as stated by the central bank.