NEW DELHI: India’s
foreign exchange reserves
rose by $223 million, reaching a record high of $689.458 billion for the week ending September 13, according to data released by the Reserve Bank on Friday.
The forex reserves reached $689.235 billion in the previous reporting week on September 6 after increasing $5.248 billion, as per the recently released data.
Despite the overall increase,
foreign currency assets
(FCA), the largest component of forex reserves, declined by $515 million, bringing the total to $603.629 billion for the week ending on September 13.
In dollar terms, foreign currency assets reflect the impact of the appreciation or depreciation of non-US currencies such as the euro, pound, and yen held in the foreign exchange reserves.
Gold reserves
, on the other hand saw a notable rise of $899 million, reaching USD 62.887 billion during the same week, as reported by the RBI.
The Special Drawing Rights (SDRs) experienced a slight decrease of $53 million, bringing the total to $18.419 billion, according to the apex bank.
Lastly, India’s reserve position with the IMF also saw a decline of $108 million, settling at $4.523 billion for the reporting week, as per the data provided by the central bank.
Foreign exchange reserves, also known as FX reserves, are assets maintained by a country’s apex bank or monetary authority. The RBI maintains a close watch on the foreign exchange markets and intervenes only to ensure orderly market conditions, focusing on containing excessive exchange rate volatility without targeting any predetermined level or band.
The central bank regularly intervenes in the market through liquidity management measures, including the sale of dollars, to prevent a sharp depreciation of the rupee.
(With input from agencies)
