South Korea's foreign reserves inched down in January from a month earlier, posting the first decline in ten months. 

According to the Bank of Korea(BOK) on Wednesday, the nation's foreign currency reserves came to 442-point-seven billion U.S. dollars as of the end of last month, down roughly 370 million dollars from a month earlier. 

The drop comes after the country's foreign exchange reserves grew for nine straight months, and hit a fresh high for seven consecutive months.

The central bank said the decline in January is attributed to a decrease in the value of other foreign currencies when converted into the U.S. dollar. 

South Korea retained its position as the world's ninth-largest holder of foreign exchange reserves at the end of December, with China topping the list, followed by Japan and Switzerland.