SEOUL, June 17 (Xinhua) -- The foreign currency deposit in South Korea rose last month as companies refrained from selling the U.S. dollar fund amid the strong dollar trend, central bank data showed Monday.
Deposit denominated in foreign currencies reached 65.61 billion U.S. dollars in May, up 2.41 billion dollars from the previous month, according to the Bank of Korea (BOK).
The strong dollar trend boosted expectations for the dollar's further ascent to the local currency, encouraging local exporters to refrain from selling the dollar fund.
The won/dollar exchange rate was 1,190.9 won per dollar as of end-May, up 22.7 won from a month earlier.
The dollar deposit grew 2.19 billion dollars over the month to 55.65 billion dollars at the end of last month.
The Japanese yen-denominated deposit dipped 90 million dollars to 3.87 billion dollars in the cited period, but the euro deposit gained 140 million dollars to 3.17 billion dollars.
The Chinese yuan-denominated deposit amounted to 1.44 billion dollars as of end-May, up 290 million dollars from a month earlier.
The foreign currency deposit refers to foreign currency-denominated deposits, led by local residents and firms as well as foreigners and foreign companies that stayed here for at least six months.