In October 2021, India’s forex kitty had reached an all-time high of $645 billion.
Forex Reserves Update: In the last three weeks, the RBI has been buying dollars to ensure the rupee remains stable
India’s forex reserves have swelled by $12.743 billion to $609.022 billion in the week ended July 14, making it one of the strongest weekly surges in the kitty in recent times, according to the latest RBI data. In the previous reporting week, the overall reserves had risen by $1.23 billion to $596.28 billion.
“In the last three weeks, the RBI has been buying dollars to ensure that too much appreciation in the rupee does not happen, so that exports do not suffer and the rupee remains stable around 82. The Asian currencies have fallen but the rupee remains in an stable state due to inflows and buying by RBI,” said Anil Kumar Bhansali, head (treasury) and executive director of Finrex Treasury Advisors LLP.
It can be noted that in October 2021, the country’s forex kitty had reached an all-time high of $645 billion. The reserves have been declining as the central bank deploys the kitty to defend the rupee amid pressures caused majorly by global developments.
In the week ended January 13 this year, the overall kitty had expanded by $10.417 billion. For the week ended July 14, the foreign currency assets, a major component of the reserves, increased by $11.198 billion to $540.166 billion, according to the Weekly Statistical Supplement released by the RBI on Friday. Expressed in dollar terms, the foreign currency assets include the effect of appreciation or depreciation of non-US units like the euro, pound and yen held in the foreign exchange reserves.
Gold reserves were up by $1.137 billion to $45.197 billion, the RBI said. The Special Drawing Rights (SDRs) were up by $250 million to $18.484 billion, the apex bank said.
The country’s reserve position with the IMF was up by $158 million to $5.175 billion in the reporting week, the apex bank data showed.
(With Inputs From PTI)
