South Korean banks' forex turnover hits decade-high at $55.51b in 2018

Strong capital inflow boosted yearly figures.

The daily foreign exchange turnover by local and foreign banks in South Korea rose 9.6% YoY to a record high $55.51b in 2018, reports Yonhap News.

The number marked the largest annual daily turnover since 2008 when the central bank started to compile related data.

Also read: South Korean banks' foreign currency deposits rebound to $68.51b in July

The daily trading volume of foreign exchange spots rose 8.9% YoY to $21.33b last year whilst derivatives transactions similarly grew 10.1% YoY to a daily $34.18b.

"The increase in spot exchange came as South Korea's exports were on a roll last year and foreigners expanded their investment in local bonds," the central bank said in a statement.

By currency type, the daily U.S. dollar-won spot trading volume jumped 10.4% YoY to $15.34b, whilst the daily turnover for the dollar-euro exchange soared 37% to $1.27b over the same period.

On the other hand, daily transactions of the Chinese yuan-Korean won fell 10.6% YoY to $1.88b.