India’s foreign exchange reserves

India’s foreign exchange reserves rose by US$938 million to US$682.321 billion during the week ended May 28, the Reserve Bank of India said on Friday.

In the last reporting week, the kitty fell by US$7.511 billion to US$681.384 billion.

The kitty had surged to an all-time high of US$728.494 billion during the week ending February 27 this year before the onset of the Middle East conflict, which led to several weeks of decline as the rupee came under pressure and the RBI had to intervene in the forex market through dollar sales.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi has also made several public appeals to countrymen since May 11 to save foreign exchange by cutting down on foreign travel, limiting fuel usage and refraining from buying gold for a year.

For the week ended May 29, foreign currency assets, a key component of reserves, rose by US$3.116 billion to US$546.148 billion, central bank data showed.

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

The value of gold reserves declined by US$2.186 billion to US$112.6 billion during the week, the RBI said.

The apex bank said special drawing rights (SDRs) remained unchanged at US$18.747 billion.

India’s reserve position with the IMF rose by US$8 million to US$4.826 billion at the end of the reporting week, according to data from the apex bank.