Forex kitty jumps in one of biggest weekly expansions

India’s forex reserves jumped USD 14.136 billion to USD 707.002 billion during the week ended August 7, the Reserve Bank said on Friday.

The overall kitty had jumped by USD 10.512 billion to USD 692.866 billion in the previous reporting week ended July 31.

The reserves had expanded to an all-time high of USD 728.494 billion during the week ended February 27 this year before the onset of the Middle East conflict that led to several weeks of drop as the rupee came under pressure and the RBI had to intervene in the forex market through dollar sales.

For the week ended August 7, foreign currency assets, a major component of the reserves, increased USD 9.946 billion to USD 574.625 billion, the central bank’s data showed.

Expressed in dollar terms, the foreign currency assets include effects of appreciation or depreciation of non-US units, such as the euro, pound, and yen, held in foreign exchange reserves.

It can be recalled that the central bank and the Government had in July, launched a series of measures, including the FCNR(B) scheme, to attract more forex flows into the country. The country has so far received USD 40 billion under the schemes, as per reports.

Value of gold reserves increased by USD 3.995 billion to USD 108.738 billion during the week, the RBI said.

The special drawing rights (SDRs) were up USD 79 million at USD 18.745 billion, the apex bank said.

India’s reserve position with the IMF was also up by USD 116 million to USD 4.894 billion at the end of the reporting week, according to the apex bank’s data.