India's forex reserves jumps $3.5 bn to $599.53 bn

Rising for the second consecutive week, India's forex kitty jumped USD 3.553 billion to USD 599.529 billion for the week ended May 12, the RBI said on Friday.

The overall reserves had jumped by USD 7.196 billion to USD 595.976 billion for the previous reporting week.

It can be noted that in October 2021, the country's forex kitty had reached an all-time high of USD 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.

For the week ended May 12, the foreign currency assets, a major component of the reserves, increased by nearly USD 3.577 billion to USD 529.598 billion, according to the Weekly Statistical Supplement released by the RBI 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 by USD 38 million to USD 46.353 billion, the RBI said.

The Special Drawing Rights (SDRs) were down by USD 35 million to USD 18.413 billion, the apex bank added.

The country's reserve position with the IMF was down by USD 28 million to USD 5.164 billion in the reporting week, the apex bank data showed.