SEOUL, April 23 (Xinhua) -- South Korea's foreign currency trading logged a double-digit increase in the first quarter owing to an export recovery and a stock investment boom, central bank data showed Friday.
The daily average transaction of foreign currencies came in at 60.94 billion U.S. dollars in the January-March quarter, up 20.7 percent from the previous quarter, according to the Bank of Korea (BOK).
It was the highest since relevant data began to be compiled in 2008. The double-digit growth was attributed to the export recovery and a boom among both local and foreign investors to purchase foreign and domestic stocks each.
The daily foreign currency trading on the spot surged 21.8 percent from three months earlier to 24.54 billion dollars in the first quarter, and the transaction of foreign currency derivatives expanded 19.9 percent to 36.4 billion dollars.
The transaction among domestic banks climbed 14.7 percent in the quarter, and the reading among local branches of foreign banks jumped 26.1 percent. Enditem