S.Korea foreign reserves rise to record in Sept

SEOUL, Oct 5 (Reuters) - South Korea's foreign reserves rose
by 1.6 percent in September to a record high on a rise in the
value of European currencies against the U.S. dollar and on
investment gains, the central bank said on Friday.
Foreign reserves held by Asia's fourth-largest economy rose
to $322.01 billion by end-September from $316.88 billion at end-
August, the Bank of Korea said in a statement, replacing the
previous record high set in August.
It was the biggest monthly increase in value of the foreign
reserves since October 2011. Foreign reserves include a small
amount of special drawing rights (SDRs) at the International
Monetary Fund, IMF position and gold.
The central bank attributed the increased reserves to the
appreciation of the euro and the pound against the
dollar, which lift the value of reserves converted into the U.S.
unit, as well as profits from securities holdings.
South Korea, which had the world's seventh-largest foreign
exchange reserves as of the end of August, held 91.4 percent of
its reserves in the form of securities.
South Korean foreign reserves (in $ bln, at end-month):
Sept Aug July June May Apr Mar
322.01 316.88 314.35 312.38 310.87 316.84 315.95

(Reporting by Christine Kim; Editing by Choonsik Yoo)