SEOUL, March 15 (Xinhua) -- South Korea's foreign currency deposit fell for a second straight month as local residents sold the U.S. dollar, which made an ascent to the domestic currency, central bank data showed Thursday.

Foreign currency-denominated deposits, owned by residents, came in at 80.96 billion U.S. dollars as of end-February, down 940 million U.S. dollars from a month earlier, according to the Bank of Korea (BOK).

Residents refer to people of the South Korean nationality and foreigners who stayed here for at least six months.

The U.S. dollar deposits reduced 610 million dollars over the month to 69.47 billion dollars as of end-February, the first decline below 70 billion dollars in three months.

The greenback gained versus the local currency, encouraging residents to sell the strong currency. The won/dollar exchange rate averaged 1,080.7 won per dollar in February, up from 1,066.54 won in January.

The Japanese yen deposit shrank 490 million dollars to 5.13 billion dollars as the yen rose against the local currency.

Deposits denominated in the Chinese yuan and the European single currency stood at 1.06 billion dollars and 3.51 billion dollars each as of end-February.