According to the Bank of Korea (BOK), country's foreign reserves reached $327.41 billion in March, up $10 million from the previous month.

SEOUL(BullionStreet): Asia's fourth largest economy, South Korea's forex reserves remained almost flat despite buying 20 tons of gold in February.

According to the Bank of Korea (BOK), country's foreign reserves reached $327.41 billion in March, up $10 million from the previous month.

Analysts said higher investment profits overshadowed the lower dollar conversion value of non-dollar assets held by the central bank.

In February, the BOK bought 20 tons of gold, raising the central bank's gold holdings to 104.4 tons valued at $4.79 billion.

Forex reserves reached $327.4 billion last month, the first fall in nine months after hitting a record high of $328.91 billion in January.

Foreign reserves consist of securities and deposits denominated in overseas currencies, along with International Monetary Fund reserve positions, special drawing rights and gold bullion.

The BOK said that the central bank logged higher management profits last month, but a stronger U.S. dollar lowered the conversion value of non-dollar assets.

Last month, the euro declined 2.4 percent to the U.S. dollar from a month earlier while the yen depreciated 2.1 percent per greenback.

But the British pound inched up 0.2 percent versus the dollar. Despite some fluctuations, the FX reserves have been on the rise, aided by the continued trade surplus and inflows of foreign capital.

South Korea remained world's seventh-largest holder of foreign exchange reserves.