South Korea's foreign exchange reserves rose to a new high in March as a weak U.S. dollar raised the conversion value of assets in other currencies, the central bank said Monday.

   The country's foreign reserves reached US$298.62 billion as of the end of March, up $950 million from February, according to the Bank of Korea (BOK).

   The reserves rose for four months in a row in March, exceeding the previous record high of $297.67 billion tallied in February.

   The foreign reserves have been on the rise as dollar inflows have increased amid robust exports and foreign investors' sustained buying of Korean assets.

   Foreign reserves consist of securities and deposits denominated in overseas currencies, along with International Monetary Fund (IMF) reserve positions, special drawing rights and gold bullion.

   "The reserves climbed last month as investment profits rose and gains in the euro increased the dollar conversion value," said Shin Jae-hyuk, an economist at the BOK.

   Shin said the reserves rose by a smaller amount in March than in February mainly because depreciation of the yen and pound cut the dollar conversion value.

   In March, the euro rose 2.6 percent to the greenback while the yen fell 1.4 percent and the British currency declined 1.7 percent to the dollar.

   As of the end of February, South Korea was the world's seventh-largest holder of foreign exchange reserves after China, Japan, Russia, Taiwan, Brazil and India.

Source: Yonhap News (April 4, 2011)