Foreign exchange reserves of India surge to $636.095 billion

Mumbai: India’s foreign exchange (forex) reserves jumped $10.47 billion to $636.095 billion for the week ended March 8. The Weekly Statistical Supplement released by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) revealed this. In the previous reporting week, the overall forex reserves had jumped by $6.55 billion to $625.626 billion

In the week ended  on February 16, the reserves touched two-month low  of $616.10 billion.  In the week ended February 9, forex reserves drop by $5.27 billion to reach $617.23 billion. This was the  steepest fall in a month, after having risen by a total of $6.36 billion in the prior two weeks. The reserves were last lower when they stood at $615.97 billion as on December 15. In  October 2021, the country’s forex kitty had reached an all-time high of $645 billion.

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.

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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 March 8, the foreign currency assets increased by $8.121 billion to $562.352 billion. Gold reserves increased by $2.299 billion to $50.716 billion. The Special Drawing Rights (SDRs) were up by $31 million to $18.211 billion. India’s reserve position with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) was also up by $19 million to $4.817 billion.