SEOUL, Feb. 19 (Xinhua) -- South Korea's foreign currency deposit fell last month as companies sold the U.S. dollar fund amid the strong dollar trend, central bank data showed Wednesday.
Foreign currency deposit amounted to 74.98 billion U.S. dollars as of the end of January, down 4.46 billion dollars from a month earlier, according to the Bank of Korea (BOK).
It was the biggest monthly decline in 11 months as companies sold the dollar fund amid the local currency's slide versus the greenback.
The won/dollar exchange rate gained to 1,191.8 won per dollar as of the end of January from 1,156.4 won a month earlier.
The foreign currency deposit, owned by companies, dived 4.34 billion dollars in January, while the deposit, possessed by individuals, slipped 0.12 billion dollars.
The U.S. dollar-denominated deposit reduced 3.93 billion dollars from a month earlier to 64.85 billion dollars as of the end of January, and the Chinese yuan deposit slid 0.25 billion dollars to 1.17 billion dollars.
Deposits denominated in Japanese yen and the European single currency dipped to 4.34 billion dollars and 3.24 billion dollars respectively.
