South Korea’s foreign exchange reserves posted their biggest-ever monthly gain in August, driven by an increase in dollar-denominated asset values, the country’s central bank reported on Thursday.

The nation’s reserves stood at $442.28 billion at the end of August, up $14.33 billion from the previous month, according to the Bank of Korea. That marks the largest monthly increase since the central bank began compiling the data in 1971, bringing the reserve balance to its highest level since May 2022, when it reached $447.71 billion.

The central bank attributed the sharp rise to higher foreign currency deposits held by financial institutions, as well as gains in the dollar value of overseas assets and management profits.

Foreign-currency securities, including U.S. Treasuries, rose by $7.07 billion from the prior month to $387.07 billion at the end of August, accounting for 87.5% of the total reserves.

Foreign-currency deposits climbed by $7.17 billion to $30.3 billion, while Special Drawing Rights (SDRs) increased by $60 million to $15.77 billion. Physical gold holdings remained unchanged at $4.79 billion.