Foreign currency deposits held by banks operating in South Korea fell 3.5 percent in December from a month earlier as exporters withdrew their US dollar deposits, central bank data showed Monday.

Outstanding foreign currency deposits held by domestic and foreign banks here dropped by US$2.14 billion to $58.91 billion in December from $61.05 billion a month earlier, the Bank of Korea said in a statement. 

Foreign currency deposits held by domestic banks plunged 5.7 percent to $49.52 billion from $52.49 billion during the same period. But the deposits by foreign banks rose 9.7 percent to $9.39 billion from $8.56 billion, it said.

Foreign deposits include those held by foreigners who have stayed in South Korea for more than six months, as well as foreign companies operating here.

The BOK attributed the month-on-month decline mainly to a withdrawal of US dollar deposits by export companies.

By currency, dollar deposits came to $49.66 billion at the end of December, down $2.37 billion from the previous month. Deposits held in the euro rose $160 million to $2.96 billion. Chinese yuan deposits came to $1.35 billion, up $140 million, the statement said. 

By holder, companies held $48.68 billion in foreign currency deposits, down $1.8 billion from the previous month. Deposits held by individuals fell $340 million to $10.23 billion, it said. (Yonhap)