SEOUL, July 31 (Yonhap) -- Daily foreign exchange (FX) trading by banks in South Korea hit an all-time high in the second quarter, driven by foreigners' investment in the local equity market, central bank data showed Friday.

Average daily FX turnover, including derivatives trading, came to an average of US$121.44 billion during the April-June period, up $18.79 billion, or 18.3 percent, from the second quarter, according to the data from the Bank of Korea (BOK).

It marked the highest quarterly level since the central bank began compiling such data under the current statistical standards in 2008, renewing the previous record of $102.65 billion set in the first three months of this year.

The BOK attributed the sharp increase in FX trading to an increase in offshore investors' stock transactions.

Foreigners traded an average 1,048 trillion won (US$730.6 billion) worth of equities per month in April and May, up from 855 trillion won in the first quarter and 475 trillion won in the fourth quarter last year.

Average daily spot FX turnover climbed 27.7 percent on-quarter to $54.11 billion in the second quarter, while derivatives trading rose 11.7 percent to $67.32 billion.

brk@yna.co.kr

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