India’s forex reserves nearing $700 billion

RBI data shows foreign currency assets, a major contributor to the forex reserves, increased from $2.057 billion to $605.686 billion.
India’s forex reserves nearing $700 billion
Updated on
1 min read

India's foreign exchange (forex) reserves surged $2.838 billion to reach a new high of $692.3 billion as of September 20, from $689.4 billion on September 13.

Reserve Bank of India's (RBI) data showed that the foreign currency asset, which is the major contributor to the forex reserves, increased from $2.057 billion to $605.686 billion.

The forex reserves are stated in the RBI report in the United States dollar; the foreign currency assets include the effect of appreciation or depreciation of non-US units like the pound, euro, and yen held in the foreign exchange reserves.

The RBI data also showed a $726 million increase in gold reserves to $63.613 billion in the latest filing, compared to $62.887 billion in the September 13 data. Gold is the second largest contributor to India's forex reserve.

Special Drawing Rights increase

Two other elements contribute to foreign exchange reserves: Special Drawing Rights (SDRs) and the Reserve position in the International Monetary Fund (IMF). According to the RBI data, the SDRs increased by $121 million to $18.540 billion as of September 20, compared to their previous level of $18.419 billion on September 13.

India's reserve position with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) fell $65 million to $4.458 billion from $4.523 billion in the previous week.

The Reserve Bank intervenes in the foreign exchange market to keep the volatility in the rupee in check. RBI's intervention causes a change in foreign currency assets, as well as the appreciation and depreciation of the foreign currencies held as reserves.

(By arrangement with livemint.com)

Related Stories

No stories found.
logo
DhanamOnline English
english.dhanamonline.com