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SKorea's foreign reserves fall by smaller margin
By KELLY OLSEN,AP Business Writer AP - Wednesday, December 3
SEOUL, South Korea - South Korea's foreign currency reserves shrank further in November amid the global credit crunch, the central bank said Wednesday, though by a smaller margin than the previous month's record decline.
The reserves totaled $200.51 billion at the end of November, down $11.74 billion from $212.25 billion at the end of October, the Bank of Korea said in a statement.
South Korea's reserves are on track for their first annual drop since 1997, when the country was brought to the brink of insolvency by the Asian economic crisis and sought a $58 billion bailout from the International Monetary Fund.
The reserves have been falling this year amid speculation the central bank is using the cash to sell dollars and purchase won to support the local currency, which has fallen sharply against the greenback as foreign investors have fled South Korean stocks at a record pace.
Foreign currency reserves are a key buffer for a country facing economic turmoil because they can be used to defend its currency, provide liquidity and generally shore up the financial system.
The government has touted them as its best defense against a repeat of the 1997-98 Asian crisis. This year's steady decline, however, has raised alarm bells in South Korea, where memories of the economic turmoil of the late 1990s remain fresh.
The central bank said that November's decrease came as it expanded dollar liquidity amid the continued seizing up of world credit markets caused by the global financial crisis.
South Korean banks and companies have been scrambling to acquire dollars to meet foreign debt obligations as formerly easily obtained short-term rollover loans have become harder to negotiate.
The central bank also said that the current level of foreign reserves is sufficient to meet any emergency funding needs South Korea may face and maintain external confidence.
Economists and foreign exchange dealers say South Korea has been using the hoard of cash to defend the won, which has fallen 36 percent against the dollar so far this year. The central bank's policy is to neither confirm nor deny currency market interventions.
The reserves hit a record $264.25 billion in March, but have declined eight straight months for a total drop of $63.74 billion. October's decline of $27.4 billion was the biggest ever for a single month.
As of the end of October the reserves were the world's sixth largest behind those of China, Japan, Russia, Taiwan and India. The central bank statement did not provide a ranking for November.
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