India’s foreign exchange reserves rose by $1.08 billion to $676.237 billion in the week ended July 17, according to data released by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on Friday.
The latest increase comes after the country’s forex reserves had climbed by $964 million in the previous reporting week to $675.157 billion.
The RBI data showed that foreign currency assets (FCAs), the largest component of India’s forex reserves, increased by $4.549 billion to USD 551.057 billion during the reporting week.
Foreign currency assets are expressed in US dollar terms and reflect the impact of appreciation or depreciation of major non-dollar currencies such as the euro, pound sterling, and Japanese yen held in the reserves.
However, the country’s gold reserves declined by $3.48 billion to $101.749 billion during the week.
Meanwhile, Special Drawing Rights (SDRs) with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) rose by $44 million to $18.67 billion. India’s reserve position with the IMF edged lower by $ 32 million to $ 4.761 billion, the central bank said.
India’s forex reserves had touched a record high of $ 728.494 billion in the week ended February 27 before coming under pressure amid heightened geopolitical tensions in the Middle East, prompting RBI interventions in the foreign exchange market to curb volatility in the rupee.
