Latest News Stream - Foreign Exchange Reserves

Singapore’s official foreign exchange reserves declined to SGD 551.32 billion in October 2026 from SGD 553.57 billion in the previous month. The decrease was primarily driven by lower gold and foreign exchange reserves, which fell to SGD 541.39 billion from SGD 543.62 billion. Special drawing rights also edged down to SGD 8.11 billion from SGD 8.18 billion, while the reserve position in the IMF increased to SGD 1.82 billion from SGD 1.77 billion. In the same month a year earlier, official foreign exchange reserves stood at SGD 510.4 billion.

France’s official reserve assets decreased further to €360.17 billion at the end of October 2026 from €370.20 billion at the end of September. This was the smallest amount since July, primarily due to falling gold reserves, which dropped by €12.66 billion to €276.37 billion. In contrast, foreign exchange reserves increased by €2.05 billion to €36.83 billion, claims on the IMF rose by €0.48 billion to €40.37 billion, and other reserve assets went up by €0.99 billion to €6.60 billion.

Indonesia’s foreign exchange reserves slightly increased to USD 146.8 billion in October from USD 146.3 billion in the previous month. It was the highest level of foreign exchange reserves since March, supported by government external loan withdrawals and tax and service revenues. However, the increase was partly offset by repayments of maturing government foreign debt and Bank Indonesia’s rupiah stabilization measures in response to persistent uncertainty in global financial markets. The reserve assets were equivalent to 5.3 months of imports, or 5.2 months of imports and government external debt servicing, well above the international adequacy benchmark of around three months of imports. Looking ahead, Bank Indonesia expects external sector resilience to remain solid, supported by ample foreign exchange reserves and sustained foreign capital inflows.

Taiwan’s foreign exchange reserves fell to USD 596.4 billion in October 2026 from USD 600.8 billion in the previous month, marking the lowest level in three months. The decline was largely attributed to returns on the investment and utilization of foreign exchange reserves, exchange rate fluctuations among major currencies against the U.S. dollar, and central bank operations aimed at maintaining stability in the foreign exchange market. Meanwhile, foreign investors’ holdings of domestic stocks and bonds, valued at market prices, together with their New Taiwan dollar deposits, totaled USD 1,742.6 billion, equivalent to approximately 292% of total foreign exchange reserves.

South Korea’s foreign exchange reserves rose to $443.16 billion at the end of October 2026 from $440.56 billion in September, marking a $2.6 billion increase and the first rebound in two months. The total surpassed the previous August peak of $442.28 billion, reaching its highest level since May 2022. The recovery was mainly driven by investment returns on foreign assets and higher foreign currency deposits held by financial institutions. Deposits jumped by $6.32 billion to $36.27 billion, while securities, including US Treasuries, fell by $3.59 billion to $382.43 billion. Special Drawing Rights (SDRs) declined by $70 million to $15.41 billion, while the country's reserve position at the IMF fell by $50 million to $4.25 billion. Gold holdings remained unchanged at $4.79 billion. South Korea also climbed to ninth place globally in September from 11th in August, partly as falling gold prices reduced the reported reserves of countries such as Italy and France.

Singapore’s official foreign exchange reserves rose to SGD 553.57 billion in September 2026, the highest level since February 2022, from SGD 550.73 billion in August. The increase was mainly driven by higher gold and foreign exchange reserves, which climbed to SGD 543.62 billion from SGD 540.73 billion. Meanwhile, special drawing rights edged down to SGD 8.18 billion from SGD 8.21 billion, while the reserve position in the IMF declined slightly to SGD 1.77 billion from SGD 1.78 billion. Compared with a year earlier, official foreign exchange reserves were significantly higher, rising from SGD 506.83 billion in September 2025.

Foreign exchange reserves in the Czech Republic fell to USD 180.1 billion in September 2026 from a record high of USD 184.6 billion in the previous month. It marked the smallest figure since March, mainly driven by a decline in foreign currency reserves to USD 162.8 billion from USD 166.8 billion in August. The IMF reserve position also fell to USD 0.767 billion from USD 0.775 billion, while SDRs declined to USD 3.50 billion from USD 3.54 billion and gold reserves dropped to USD 11.66 billion from USD 12.63 billion. On the other hand, other reserve assets increased to USD 1.35 billion from USD 0.80 billion.

India’s foreign exchange reserves fell for a fourth consecutive week to $734.6 billion as of October 2, 2026, according to a footnote to Reserve Bank of India Governor Sanjay Malhotra’s monetary policy statement. Reserves have declined from their recent peak of $785.71 billion on September 4, a drop of around $50 billion in less than a month. The drawdown reflects RBI intervention in the foreign-exchange market, including dollar sales to smooth the rupee’s decline and sell/buy FX swaps aimed at absorbing surplus liquidity. Despite the central bank’s support, including its first rate hike since 2023 in October, the rupee has continued to weaken, pressured by elevated oil prices, rising US Treasury yields and increased foreign equity outflows.

France’s official reserve assets fell to €370.20 billion at the end of September 2026 from a three-month high of €380.69 billion at the end of August. The decline was mainly due to a decrease in gold reserves, which fell by €12.13 billion to €289.03 billion. Meanwhile, claims on the IMF rose by €0.65 billion to €39.89 billion, foreign exchange reserves increased by €0.88 billion to €34.79 billion, and other reserve assets went up by €0.11 billion to €6.50 billion.

Gross foreign exchange reserves in South Africa dropped slightly to $75.43 billion in September 2026 from a three-month high of $75.95 billion in the previous month. The decline was mainly driven by a lower US dollar gold price, foreign exchange and asset price valuation adjustments, and foreign exchange payments made on behalf of the government. Gold reserves decreased to $16.90 billion from $18.00 billion, while SDR holdings also moderated to $6.67 billion from $6.70 billion. On the other hand, the forward position, which represents the central bank’s unsettled forward swaps, rose to $0.587 billion from $0.565 billion. Foreign exchange reserves also increased to $51.87 billion from $51.26 billion in August.

Indonesia’s forex exchange reserves slightly fell to USD 146.3 billion in September from a five-month high of USD 146.5 billion in the previous month. The decline was primarily due to government external loan withdrawals and tax and services receipts, amid repayments of maturing government foreign debt and Bank Indonesia’s rupiah stabilization measures in response to persistent uncertainty in global financial markets. Despite the decline, reserve assets remained robust, equivalent to 5.3 months of imports, or 5.2 months of imports and government external debt servicing, well above the international adequacy benchmark of around three months of imports. Looking ahead, Bank Indonesia expects external sector resilience to remain solid, supported by ample foreign exchange reserves and sustained foreign capital inflows, underpinned by positive investor sentiment toward Indonesia’s economic prospects and attractive investment returns.

China’s foreign exchange reserves fell to $3.4 trillion at the end of September 2026, down $38.1 billion from a month earlier. The State Administration of Foreign Exchange attributed the decline primarily to a stronger US dollar and surging US Treasury yields, which likely led to currency translation and asset valuation changes. Meanwhile, the People’s Bank of China increased its gold holdings to 77.47 million fine troy ounces from 76.73 million ounces at the end of August, extending its gold-buying streak to 23 consecutive months. SAFE said China’s economic fundamentals remain sound, supporting the basic stability of the country’s foreign exchange reserves.

Japan’s official reserve assets fell by USD 29.1 billion, or 2.4%, to USD 1.178 trillion at the end of September 2026 from USD 1.208 trillion a month earlier, extending the decline following August’s record drop. The decrease was led by foreign currency reserves, which fell to USD 976.9 billion from USD 995.0 billion, with securities declining to USD 821.7 billion from USD 839.6 billion. Deposits with foreign central banks and the Bank for International Settlements edged down to USD 154.8 billion from USD 155.0 billion. Gold reserves also fell to USD 113.6 billion from USD 124.1 billion, while SDR holdings declined to USD 60.8 billion and the IMF reserve position to USD 11.3 billion. Other reserve assets stood at USD 15.8 billion. The latest decline follows the record USD 79.6 billion drop in August, when Japan spent ¥15.4 trillion on yen-buying intervention to support the currency.

South Korea’s foreign exchange reserves fell to $440.6 billion at the end of September 2026 from $442.3 billion in August, ending a three-month rising streak. August had recorded the largest monthly gain on record. Securities remained the largest component, falling to $386 billion from $387.1 billion, while deposits declined to $30 billion from $30.3 billion. Special Drawing Rights (SDRs) fell to $15.5 billion from $15.8 billion. Gold holdings and the country’s reserve position at the IMF were unchanged at $4.8 billion and $4.3 billion, respectively.

Taiwan's foreign exchange reserves fell to USD 600.8 billion in September 2026 from USD 601.9 billion in the previous month. The change was mainly due to returns from the investment and utilization of foreign exchange reserves, exchange rate fluctuations of major currencies against the US sollar and central bank operations aimed at maintaining stability in the foreign exchange market. Meanwhile, foreign investors' holdings of domestic stocks and bonds, valued at market prices, along with their New Taiwan Dollar deposits, totaled USD 1,927.2 billion, equivalent to approximately 321% of total foreign exchange reserves.

Foreign exchange reserves in the Czech Republic rose to USD 184.6 billion at the end of August 2026 from USD 180.7 billion in the previous month. It marked the highest level on record, driven by higher foreign currency reserves, which climbed to USD 166.8 billion from USD 165.1 billion, while gold holdings rose to USD 12.6 billion from USD 11.0 billion. The country’s IMF reserve position increased slightly to USD 0.775 billion from USD 0.769 billion, while holdings of Special Drawing Rights (SDRs) edged up to USD 3.54 billion from USD 3.51 billion. Additionally, other reserve assets rose to USD 0.80 billion from USD 0.26 billion.

Singapore’s official foreign exchange reserves rose to SGD 550.73 billion in August 2026 from SGD 549.30 billion in the previous month. The increase was mainly driven by higher gold and foreign exchange reserves, which rose to SGD 540.73 billion from SGD 539.18 billion in the previous month. Meanwhile, special drawing rights declined slightly to SGD 8.21 billion from SGD 8.25 billion, while the reserve position in the IMF fell to SGD 1.78 billion from SGD 1.87 billion. In the same month a year earlier, official foreign exchange reserves were lower at SGD 502.02 billion in August 2025.

China’s foreign exchange reserves rose to $3.438 trillion in August 2026, up from $3.419 trillion a month earlier and above market expectations of $3.43 trillion. The increase came as the yuan strengthened 0.5% against the US dollar, while the greenback weakened 0.4% against a basket of major currencies. Meanwhile, the People’s Bank of China extended its gold-buying streak to a 22nd consecutive month, lifting its holdings to 76.73 million fine troy ounces from 76.08 million at the end of July. The value of China’s gold reserves rose to $350.08 billion at the end of August, from $306.35 billion a month earlier.

Hong Kong's foreign exchange reserves fell to US$442.9 billion in August 2026 from US$447.9 billion in the previous month. There were no unsettled foreign exchange contracts at the end of August and July of 2026, compared with US$0.3 billion in June. Overall, the reserves are equivalent to more than five times the currency in circulation and about 37% of Hong Kong dollar M3 money supply.

France’s official reserve assets rose to €380.69 billion at the end of August 2026 from €357.05 billion in July, marking the highest level since May. The increase was driven mainly by higher gold reserves, which climbed by €24.37 billion to €301.16 billion. In contrast, claims on the IMF decreased to €39.23 billion from €39.42 billion, while foreign currency reserves fell to €33.91 billion from €34.37 billion. Other reserve assets also dropped to €6.39 billion from €6.46 billion. In August 2025, total reserve assets stood at €304.80 billion.