India’s forex reserves rise for second week, up $1.48 bn to $695.10 bn: RBI

NEW DELHI: India’s foreign exchange reserves (forex) rose by $1.48 billion in the week that ended August 15 to $695.10 billion, driven by gains in foreign currency assets, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) said in its latest ‘Weekly Statistical Supplement’.

For the reported week, India’s foreign currency assets (FCA), the largest component of foreign exchange reserves, stood at $585.90 billion, up by $1.92 billion. The RBI data shows that the gold reserves currently amount to $86.16 billion, witnessing a decline of $2.16 billion.

India’s Special Drawing Rights (SDRs) with the global financial body, the International Monetary Fund (IMF), increased by $41 million, reaching $18.782 billion. The reserve position of the country with the IMF increased by $15 million to $4.754 billion.

In the preceding week, forex reserves rose by $4.747 billion in the week that ended August 8 to $693.618 billion, driven by gains in both foreign currency assets and gold holdings. After the latest monetary policy review meeting, RBI Governor Sanjay Malhotra said the foreign exchange kitty was sufficient to meet 11 months of the country’s imports.

In 2023, India added around $58 billion to its foreign exchange reserves, contrasting with a cumulative decline of $71 billion in 2022. In 2024, the reserves rose by a little over $20 billion. So far in 2025, the forex kitty has cumulatively jumped by about $53 billion, data showed.

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 steep Rupee depreciation. The RBI strategically buys dollars when the Rupee is strong and sells when it weakens. (ANI)