Seoul: Foreign currency deposits in the Republic of Korea decreased for the first time in three months in July, central bank data showed Wednesday. Outstanding foreign currency-denominated deposits held by residents stood at US$105.15 billion as of end-July, down $1.29 billion from a month earlier, according to the data from the Bank of Korea (BOK).

According to Emirates News Agency, this marked the first on-month decrease since April. Residents include Korean citizens, foreigners who have resided in the country for more than six months, and foreign companies. The data excludes interbank foreign currency deposits.

Corporate foreign currency deposits also fell by $1.25 billion on-month to $90.42 billion, while individual holdings edged down by $40 million to $14.73 billion. By currency, dollar-denominated deposits fell by $420 million to $88.72 billion, while Japanese yen-denominated deposits increased $50 million to $8.74 billion. Euro-denominated deposits went down $140 million to $5.07 billion, and Chinese yuan-denominated deposits sank $890 million to $1.19 billion.