Forex Reserves Surge For Second Week: India’s Kitty Rises $1.48 Billion to Cross $695 Billion Mark – RBI Says

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) in its latest ‘Weekly Statistical Supplement’ said that India’s foreign exchange reserves (Forex) jumped by $1.48 billion in the week that ended on August 15, 2025 to $695.10 billion, driven by the gains in foreign currency assets.

For the reporting week, India’s foreign currency assets (FCA), which is the largest component of foreign exchange reserves, stood at $585.90 billion, witnessing a decline of $2.16 billion.

The Special Drawing Rights (SDRs) of India with the global financial body, the International Monetary Fund (IMF), rose by $41 million, reaching $18.782 billion. The country’s reserve position with the IMF has also increased by $15 million to $4.754 billion.

In the preceding week, forex reserves increased by $4.747 billion in the week that ended August 8 to $693.618 billion, on the back of gains in both foreign currency assets and gold holdings.

RBI Governor Sanjay Malhotra said after the latest monetary policy review meeting that the foreign exchange kitty was sufficient to meet 11 months of the country’s imports.

India added nearly $58 billion to its foreign exchange reserves in 2023, as compared to a cumulative decline of $71 billion in 2022.

The reserves increased by a little more than $20 billion in 2024. So far in 2025, the forex kitty has cumulatively increased by about $53 billion, data revealed.

Foreign exchange reserves are assets held by a country’s central bank or monetary authority, primarily in reserve currencies like the US Dollar wit smaller portions in the Euro, Japanese Yen, and Pound Sterling.

The central bank often intervenes by managing liquidity, including selling dollars to prevent steep depreciation of the Rupee. The RBI also strategically buys dollars when the Rupee is strong and sells when it weakens.