SEOUL: South Korea's foreign reserves rose $1.5 billion in April to a fresh record high, central bank data showed on Thursday, as management gains added to the stockpile.

The Bank of Korea said the foreign reserves, 91.6 percent of which are in the form of securities, stood at $355.85 billion at the end of April compared with $354.34 billion at end-March.

Part of the gains were also attributed to the appreciation of some currencies, including the euro and sterling , which rose 0.5 percent and 1.1 percent against the greenback, respectively.

As of the end of March, South Korea had the world's seventh largest foreign reserves.