Forex reserves up for 3rd week

Mumbai: India’s forex reserves increased by $6.396 billion to $642.492 billion for the week ended March 15, the Reserve Bank said on Friday. This is the third consecutive week marking a big jump in the country’s forex kitty.

In the previous reporting week, the overall reserves had risen by $10.47 billion to $636.095 billion. Similarly, during the last week of February, the country’s foreign exchange reserves had shot up by an impressive $6.55 billion to $625.63 billion.

In October 2021, the country’s forex kitty had reached an all-time high of $645 billion. The reserves took a hit as the central bank deployed the kitty to defend the rupee amid pressures caused majorly by global developments since last year.

For the week ended March 15, the foreign currency assets, a major component of the reserves, increased by $6.034 billion to $568.386 billion, the data showed. 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 by $425 million to $51.14 billion during the week, the RBI said.