India’s foreign exchange reserves have seen a significant surge, increasing by $10.512 billion to $692.866 billion during the week ended July 31, according to the Reserve Bank of India (RBI). This marks a substantial jump from the previous reporting week, when the reserves had increased by $6.118 billion to $682.354 billion.
The country’s forex reserves had previously reached an all-time high of $728.494 billion during the week ended February 27 this year, before declining due to the West Asia conflict, which put pressure on the rupee and prompted the RBI to intervene in the forex market through dollar sales.
For the week ended July 31, foreign currency assets, a major component of the reserves, increased by $8.75 billion to $564.68 billion, as per the RBI’s data. The foreign currency assets include the effects of appreciation or depreciation of non-U.S. units, such as the euro, pound, and yen, held in the foreign exchange reserves.
In an effort to attract more forex flows into the country, the central bank and the government had launched a series of measures last month, including the FCNR(B) measure. According to reports, the country has so far received $32 billion under these schemes.
The value of gold reserves also saw an increase of $1.685 billion to $104.743 billion during the week, while the Special Drawing Rights (SDRs) rose by $48 million to $18.666 billion. Additionally, India’s reserve position with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) increased by $28 million to $4.778 billion at the end of the reporting week.
