India’s forex reserves rise by $9.9 bn to $716.9 bn,6-month high

India’s foreign exchange reserves rose by $9.905 billion to $716.907 billion in the week ended August 14, according to data released by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on Friday.The overall reserves had increased by $14.136 billion to $707.002 billion in the previous week ended August 7.
India’s forex reserves had reached an all-time high of $728.494 billion in the week ended February 27 before the onset of the Middle East conflict triggered several weeks of decline. The rupee came under pressure during the period, prompting the RBI to intervene in the foreign exchange market through dollar sales.For the week ended August 14, foreign currency assets (FCAs), the largest component of the reserves, increased by $7.225 billion to $581.851 billion, the RBI data showed.
FCAs, expressed in dollar terms, also reflect the impact of appreciation or depreciation of non-US currencies such as the euro, pound and yen held in the reserves.The RBI and the government had introduced a series of measures last month to attract foreign exchange inflows, including the FCN (B) measure. India has so far received $56.85 billion under the concessional swap measures as of August 13.
The value of gold reserves also increased by $2.679 billion to $111.417 billion during the reporting week.Meanwhile, special drawing rights (SDRs) declined by $5 million to $18.74 billion, while India’s reserve position with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) increased by $5 million to $4.899 billion, the RBI said.

(Business Correspondent)