[THE INVESTOR] Foreign currency deposits held by banks in Korea rose in May, central bank data showed on June 15.

Outstanding foreign currency deposits held by local banks, domestic and foreign, reached US$69.94 billion in May, up US$2.55 billion from a month earlier, the Bank of Korea said in a statement.

Broken down, foreign currency deposits held by domestic lenders came to US$59.87 billion in May, up from 57.98 billion in April. The deposits by foreign banks stood at US$10.07 billion, up from US$9.41 billion during the same period.

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

The central bank attributed the on-month increase mainly to a rise in US dollar deposits by exporters.

By currency, dollar deposits rose to US$59.58 billion in May from US$57.79 billion month earlier. Euro deposits came to US$2.94 billion in May from US$2.98 billion in April. Yen deposits rose to US$4.38 billion from US$3.77 billion, the data said.

By Alex Lee and newswires (alexlee@heraldcorp.com)