India's forex reserves surge by $1.08B to $676.237B
What's the story
India's foreign exchange reserves rose by $1.08 billion to touch $676.237 billion in the week ended July 17, data released by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has showed. The increase comes after a previous week's rise of $964 million when reserves had reached $675.157 billion. The rise was mainly due to an increase in foreign currency assets (FCAs), which surged by $4.549 billion to reach $551.057 billion during the reporting week, according to RBI data.
Reserve composition
Gold reserves declined
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, India's gold reserves declined by $3.48 billion to $101.749 billion during this period.
Special Drawing Rights (SDRs) with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) increased by $44 million to $18.67 billion during the same week.
IMF position
Reserve position with IMF fell
India's reserve position with the IMF also fell by $32 million to $4.761 billion at the end of the reporting week, according to RBI data.
The country's forex reserves had touched a record high of $728.494 billion in February, before coming under pressure due to geopolitical tensions in the Middle East and subsequent RBI interventions in foreign exchange markets.