India’s foreign exchange reserves touch 22-month high

Mumbai: India’s foreign exchange reserves rose for a seventh week in a row. The forex reserves of the country has touched a near 22-month high of $623.20 billion for the week ending on December 29. As per RBI data, the forex reserves surged by $2.759 billion to touch $623.20 billion during the week ended December 29.  The Weekly Statistical Supplement released by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) revealed this.

In the previous reporting week, the forex reserves added  $4.471 billion to of $620.441 billion. In the week before, the overall reserves had risen by  $9.112 billion to $615.971 billion. In the week before, the overall reserves had risen by $2.816 billion to $606.859 billion.n week ended on December 1, forex reserves jumped by $6.107 billion to $604.042 billion. The reserves were $597.935 billion in the preceding week ended November 24. The forex reserves were last above the $600 billion mark on August 11 this year. In October 2021, the forex kitty had reached an all-time high of $645 billion.

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Forex reserves, or foreign exchange reserves (FX reserves), are assets that are held by a nation’s central bank or monetary authority. It is generally held in reserve currencies, usually the US Dollar and, to a lesser degree, the Euro, Japanese Yen, and Pound Sterling.

The foreign exchange reserves of the country comprise of foreign currency assets (FCAs), gold reserves, special drawing rights (SDRs) and the country’s reserve position with the International Monetary Fund (IMF). FCA is the largest component of the forex reserves. It includes the effect of appreciation or depreciation of non-US currencies like the euro, pound, and yen held in the foreign exchange reserves.

For the week ended December 29, foreign currency assets (FCAs) rose  $1.87 billion to  $551.62 billion.Gold reserves increased by $853 million, reaching a total of $48.33 billion. The  special drawing rights (SDRs) experienced a surge of $38 million, totalling $18.37 billion. The reserve position in the International Monetary Fund (IMF) saw a slight decrease, declining by $2 million to $4.89 billion.