Mumbai — India added nearly $1 billion to its foreign exchange reserves in the week ended July 10, with gains in foreign currency assets accounting for most of the increase, Reserve Bank of India data showed Friday.
Total reserves rose by $964 million to $675.16 billion, extending the recovery recorded a week earlier. In the previous reporting period, reserves had jumped by $7.26 billion to $674.19 billion.
Foreign currency assets increased by $930 million to $546.51 billion. The category, which represents the largest share of India’s reserves, is affected by movements in currencies such as the euro, British pound and Japanese yen against the U.S. dollar.
The value of the RBI’s gold holdings rose by $24 million to $105.23 billion.
India’s Special Drawing Rights with the International Monetary Fund increased by $3 million to $18.626 billion, while its IMF reserve position gained $7 million to reach $4.793 billion.
The country’s reserves remain below the record $728.494 billion reached in the week ended Feb. 27.
Reserves declined in subsequent weeks as tensions in the Middle East weighed on the rupee and prompted the central bank to sell dollars in the foreign exchange market.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi has urged Indians to help limit demand for foreign currency by avoiding unnecessary international travel, reducing fuel use and delaying gold purchases for a year amid continued global uncertainty.
The RBI has said it does not seek to defend a predetermined exchange rate but will intervene when necessary to prevent disorderly trading in the currency market. (Source: IANS)
