South Korea’s Reserves Ease to 440.56 Billion Dollars, Still 12.51 Billion Above End 2025
South Korea’s official foreign reserves stood at 440.56 billion dollars at the end of September, down 1.72 billion dollars from 442.28 billion dollars at the end of August, the Bank of Korea said on 6 October. On our calculation, reserves remain 12.51 billion dollars, or 2.9 percent, above the end of 2025, and the monthly decline was about 0.39 percent.
What drove September
Investment returns were outweighed mainly by a fall in financial institutions’ foreign currency deposits, the entrustment of assets to the Korea-US Strategic Investment Corporation and a lower dollar value of assets denominated in other currencies, the central bank said. It added that the amounts and schedule of any further entrustment have not been set.
Securities carry the year’s gain
Securities, which cover government and agency bonds, corporate bonds and asset-backed securities, stood at 386.03 billion dollars, or 87.6 percent of reserves. On our calculation, securities are up 14.91 billion dollars since the end of 2025, more than the total gain of 12.51 billion dollars, while deposits are 1.92 billion dollars lower at 29.95 billion, SDRs 0.41 billion lower at 15.48 billion and the IMF position 0.07 billion lower at 4.30 billion. Gold has stayed at 4.79 billion dollars at every reading since the end of 2022.
South Korea’s official reserves, end of September 2026
| Component | $ billion | Share | Change in Sep |
|---|---|---|---|
| Securities | 386.03 | 87.6% | -1.05 |
| Deposits | 29.95 | 6.8% | -0.35 |
| SDRs | 15.48 | 3.5% | -0.29 |
| Gold | 4.79 | 1.1% | 0.00 |
| IMF position | 4.30 | 1.0% | -0.04 |
| Total | 440.56 | 100% | -1.72 |
End of period totals in billion dollars: 2022, 423.16; 2023, 420.15; 2024, 415.60; 2025, 428.05; end August 2026, 442.28. Components may not sum exactly because of rounding.
September in context
The September decline was spread across securities, down 1.05 billion dollars, deposits, down 0.35 billion, SDRs, down 0.29 billion, and the IMF position, down 0.04 billion, while gold was unchanged. On our calculation, securities accounted for about 61 percent of the month’s fall. Reserves are 24.96 billion dollars above the end of 2024 and 17.40 billion dollars above the end of 2022.
Why it matters: South Korea’s reserves remain 12.51 billion dollars above where they began the year, and September’s 1.72 billion dollar decline came mainly from lower foreign currency deposits at financial institutions, asset entrustment and currency valuation, with investment returns working the other way. The reserve stock rests mainly on securities, which drove both the year’s rise and most of September’s change.
Outlook: On our reading, any further asset entrustment, for which no amounts or schedule have been set, and the dollar value of non-dollar holdings are the factors to watch when October reserves are reported.
Sources: Bank of Korea, The Edge.
