Forex reserves up by $4.03 billion to $698.3 billion in week ending Sept 5: RBI

NEW DELHI: India’s foreign exchange reserves rose by USD 4.038 billion in the week that ended September 5 to USD 698.268 billion, driven largely by a rise in gold reserves, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) said in its latest ‘Weekly Statistical Supplement.’

The country’s foreign exchange (forex) kitty is hovering close to its all-time high of USD 704.89 billion, reached in September 2024.

The RBI data showed that the gold reserves currently amount to USD 90.299 billion, witnessing a rise of USD 3.530 billion in the reported week.
For the reported week, India’s foreign currency assets (FCA), the largest component of foreign exchange reserves, stood at USD 584.477 billion, a rise of USD 540 million.

After the latest monetary policy review meeting, RBI Governor Sanjay Malhotra had said the foreign exchange kitty was sufficient to meet 11 months of the country’s imports.

In 2023, India added around USD 58 billion to its foreign exchange reserves, contrasting with a cumulative decline of USD 71 billion in 2022.
In 2024, the reserves rose by a little over USD 20 billion.

So far in 2025, the forex kitty has increased by approximately USD 60 billion, according to the data. Foreign exchange reserves, or FX reserves, are assets held by a nation’s central bank or monetary authority, primarily in reserve currencies such as the

US Dollar, with smaller portions in the Euro, Japanese Yen, and Pound Sterling.

The RBI often intervenes by managing liquidity, including selling dollars, to prevent a steep depreciation of the rupee. The RBI strategically buys dollars when the Rupee is strong and sells when it weakens. (ANI)