India’s foreign exchange reserves rose $2.5 billion to $598 billion: RBI data

India’s foreign exchange (forex) reserves increased $2.538 billion to $597.935 billion for the week ended November 24, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) said on Friday, December 1. In the previous reporting week, the overall reserves had jumped $5.077 billion to $595.397 billion.

For the week ended November 24, the foreign currency assets, a major component of the reserves, increased $2.14 billion to $528.531 billion, as per the data from the RBI.

Expressed in dollar terms, the foreign currency assets include the effect of appreciation or depreciation of non-US units like the euro, pound and yen held in the foreign exchange reserves. Gold reserves were up $296 million to $46.338 billion during the week, said the RBI.

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The Special Drawing Rights (SDRs) were up $87 million to $18.218 billion. India’s reserve position with the IMF rose $14 million to $4.848 billion in the reporting week, the central bank data showed.

In October 2021, the country’s foreign exchange kitty had reached an all-time high of $645 billion. The reserves took a hit as the central bank deployed the reserves to defend the rupee amid pressures caused majorly by global developments since last year.

Meanwhile, the rupee appreciated seven paise to settle at 83.30 (provisional) against the US dollar on Friday, following positive cues from equity markets and strong domestic macroeconomic data. Forex analysts said easing crude oil prices in the international markets also favoured the local currency.

At the interbank foreign exchange, the rupee opened stronger at 83.29 against the dollar and traded between the peak of 83.25 and the lowest level of 83.36 against the American currency intra-day. It finally settled at 83.30 (provisional) against the greenback, registering a gain of 7 paise over the previous close.

Meanwhile, the dollar index, which gauges the greenback’s strength against a basket of six currencies, was trading 0.19 per cent lower at 103.30 on Friday.