South Korea's foreign reserves decreased by over two billion dollars in August due to the appreciation of the U.S. dollar.

According to the Bank of Korea on Monday, the nation's foreign currency reserves totaled 436-point-43 billion U.S. dollars as of the end of last month, down two-point-18 billion dollars from a month earlier.

The central bank said the reserves declined last month after the U.S. dollar appreciated by some two-point-three percent, prompting a fall in the value of non-dollar assets when converted into the greenback.

The drop marked a sharp reversal from July, when the foreign reserves rose by 330 million dollars after five months of decline, making South Korea the world's ninth-largest holder of foreign exchange reserves at the end of the month.

China topped the list at over three-point-one trillion dollars, followed by Japan, Switzerland, Russia and India.