Seoul: South Korea's foreign reserves rose from a month earlier in February, marking the first increase in three months, driven by investment returns and the issuance of foreign currency-denominated Exchange Stabilization Fund (ESF) bonds, the central bank said Thursday. The country's foreign reserves stood at US$427.62 billion as of end-February, up $1.72 billion from a month earlier, according to the data from the Bank of Korea (BOK).

According to Yonhap News Agency, the reserves had fallen in December for the first time since June and continued to decline through January. "The increase came mainly from the issuance of new ESF bonds and investment returns, despite foreign exchange swaps with the National Pension Service and a decline in the U.S. dollar-converted value of assets in other currencies," a BOK official said.

Foreign securities, including U.S. Treasuries, rose by $2.4 billion from a month earlier to $380 billion at end-February, accounting for 88.9 percent of the country's total foreign reserves. However, the value of foreign currency deposits fell by $800 million to $22.5 billion, while special drawing rights (SDRs) edged down by $100 million to $15.8 billion. Gold bullion holdings remained unchanged at $4.8 billion.

The country's reserve position with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) increased by $200 million from a month earlier to $4.6 billion at the end of February, the data showed. South Korea ranked as the world's 10th-largest holder of foreign reserves as of end-January, down from ninth place a month earlier. China topped the list, followed by Japan, Switzerland, Russia and India, according to the BOK.