Forex kitty swells by $5.16 bn to $657.16 bn

Mumbai: India’s forex reserves jumped $5.158 billion to $657.155 billion during the week ended July 5, Reserve Bank of India (RBI) said on Friday. The forex kitty had declined for the previous two consecutive weeks, dropping $1.713 billion to $651.997 billion for the week ended June 28. The reserves had touched an all-time high of $655.817 billion as on June 7 this year.

For the week ended July 5, foreign currency assets, a major component of the reserves, increased $4.228 billion to $577.11 billion, as per the the data released 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 increased $904 million to $57.432 billion during the week, the RBI said. The Special Drawing Rights were up $21 million to $18.036 billion, the apex bank said. India’s reserve position with the IMF was up $4 million to $4.578 billion in the reporting week, the apex bank data showed.