Seoul: Daily foreign exchange (FX) trading by banks in South Korea reached an all-time high in the second quarter on increasing foreign investment in domestic securities and exchange rate volatility, central bank data showed Tuesday.

According to Yonhap News Agency, the daily FX turnover, including trading of derivatives, came to an average of US$82.16 billion during the April-June period, up 12.9 percent from the first quarter. This figure marks the largest quarterly turnover since the central bank, the Bank of Korea (BOK), began compiling relevant data under the current statistical standards in 2008.

A BOK official cited exchange rate volatility and increased trading by foreign investors in domestic securities as primary factors for the surge. The official also noted a steady increase in trading volume since the extension of foreign exchange market trading hours in July of the previous year.

The data further revealed that the daily average turnover for FX derivatives advanced by 10.2 percent from the previous quarter, reaching $49.39 billion in the second quarter. Meanwhile, the average daily spot FX trading volume surged 17.3 percent quarter-on-quarter to $32.77 billion.