Foreign currency deposits up for 2nd month in July

Foreign currency deposits rose for the second straight month in July as companies saved more U.S. dollar-denominated currency, central bank data showed Friday. Residents' outstanding foreign currency-denominated deposits reached US$4.44 billion at end-July, up $3.87 billion from the previous month, according to the data from the Bank of Korea. Residents include local citizens, foreigners who have stayed in South Korea for more than six months and foreign companies. The data excludes interbank foreign currency deposits. By currency, dollar-denominated deposits rose by $4.57 billion to $78.04 billion, and Japanese yen-denominated deposits fell by $30 million to $10.10 billion last month. Euro-denominated deposits declined by $440 million to $4.13 billion, and Chinese yuan-denominated deposits also fell by $170 million to $1.01 billion, according to the data. Corporate deposits had come to $79.33 billion as of July, up $3.85 billion from the previous month, with individual holdings rising by $20 million to $15.11 billion. Source: Yonhap News Agency