India’s forex reserves climb to $707 billion, mark $14.1 billion jump
India’s foreign exchange reserves rose by $14.136 billion to $707.002 billion in the week ended August 7, according to data released by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on Friday.The reserves had increased by $10.512 billion to $692.866 billion in the previous week ended July 31, as per the data, cited by PTI.India’s forex reserves had touched a record $728.494 billion in the week ended February 27 before the onset of the Middle East conflict triggered several weeks of declines. The rupee came under pressure during the period, prompting the RBI to intervene in the foreign exchange market through dollar sales.For the week ended August 7, foreign currency assets (FCAs), the largest component of India’s reserves, rose by $9.946 billion to $574.625 billion, RBI data showed.FCAs, when expressed in dollar terms, also reflect the impact of appreciation or depreciation of non-US currencies such as the euro, pound and yen held in the reserves.Gold reserves increased by $3.995 billion to $108.738 billion during the week.Special drawing rights (SDRs) rose by $79 million to $18.745 billion, while India’s reserve position with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) increased by $116 million to $4.894 billion.The rise in reserves comes after the RBI and the government launched measures in July, including the FCNR(B) deposit scheme, to attract foreign exchange inflows. India has so far received about $40 billion under these measures, according to reports.
