Forex kitty rises $5.98 bn to $578.78 bn

In a second consecutive weekly increase, India's forex reserves rose $5.977 billion to $578.778 billion in the week ended March 24, the Reserve Bank of India said on Friday.

In the previous reporting week, the kitty had risen by $12.8 billion to $572.8 billion.

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.

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For the week ended March 24, the foreign currency assets, a major component of the reserves, increased by $4.38 billion to $509.728 billion, according to the Weekly Statistical Supplement released by the RBI.

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 jumped by $1.37 billion to $45.48 billion, the RBI said.

The Special Drawing Rights (SDRs) were up by $201 million to $18.419 billion, the apex bank said.

The country's reserve position with the IMF was also up by $27 million to $5.151 billion in the reporting week, the apex bank data showed.