Seoul, Feb 27 (IANS) Foreign currency deposits in South Korea fell for the first time in three months in January, due to a decline in corporate deposits, central bank data showed on Friday.

Outstanding foreign currency-denominated deposits held by residents stood at US$118.03 billion at the end of January, down $1.4 billion from a month earlier, according to the data from the Bank of Korea (BOK), reports Yonhap news agency.

It marked the first on-month decline since October, following gains in November and December that had lifted the figure to a record high amid a weakened won and heightened foreign exchange market volatility.

Residents include South Korean citizens, foreigners who have lived in the country for more than six months and foreign companies. The data excludes interbank deposits.

Corporate foreign currency deposits fell $1.82 billion from a month earlier to $100.06 billion, while individual holdings rose $420 million to $17.35 billion.

By currency, U.S. dollar-denominated deposits increased $400 million to $96.34 billion, and Japanese yen deposits gained $520 million to $9.51 billion.

In contrast, euro-denominated deposits dropped $2.36 billion to $9.39 billion, while Chinese yuan deposits slipped $70 million to $1.38 billion, the data showed.

The local currency has rebounded from a multi-year low of nearly 1,500 won per U.S. dollar seen late last year and has been hovering around the 1,430 won level.

Amid continued volatility, the won opened at 1,432.2 per dollar on Friday, down 6.4 won from the previous session.

Meanwhile, banks’ overall lending rates rose for the third consecutive month in January, driven by higher household loan rates amid tighter regulations aimed at stabilising the housing market, data showed on Friday.

The average interest rate on new bank loans stood at 4.24 percent last month, up 0.05 percentage point from December, according to the data from the Bank of Korea (BOK). The figure has increased steadily since November 2025.

The increase came as the rate on new household loans climbed 0.15 percentage point to 4.5 percent, marking a fourth consecutive monthly increase. In particular, the average rate on home-backed mortgage loans rose 0.06 percentage point to 4.29 percent.

—IANS

na/