Forex Reserves Up $313 M To $49 Bn

Foreign exchange reserves rose $313 million in the week ended February 1, 2001, over the preceding week. The reserves as on the reference date stood at $49.565 billion.

Since March-end 2001, there was an accretion of $7.284 billion to the country's forex kitty. Reserves have buoyed by $2.674 billion since November 30, 2001.

In the reporting week, forex reserves were up on the back of foreign currency assets and gold reserves moving up to the tune of $256 million and $57 million, respectively. Special drawing rights remained unchanged at $5 million.

Non-food credit extended by banks to the trade and industry is showing signs of a pick-up. In the reporting fortnight ended January 25, the non-food credit offtake was up by Rs 1,521 crore over the preceding fortnight. In the fortnight ended January 11, the non-food credit offtake rose by Rs 6,301 crore over the previous fortnight.

The increase in non-food credit was accompanied by a decline in investments by scheduled commercial banks (SCBs) in the reporting fortnight. Investments in government securities were Rs 3,079 crore lower in the reporting fortnight compared with the previous fortnight.

In the financial year so far, the non-food credit offtake from SCBs was lower at Rs 42,701 crore against Rs 50,938 crore in the year ago period.

Investments in government securities by SCBs in the financial year so far were higher at Rs 61,664 crore against Rs 47,769 crore in the same period last year.

Food credit offtake from SCBs was up by Rs 1,485 crore in the reporting fortnight over the previous fortnight. In the financial year so far, food credit offtake was to the tune of Rs 14,689 crore against Rs 13,387 crore in the corresponding period last year.

A total of Rs 2,925 crore was accrued to SCBs in the reporting fortnight over the previous fortnight. While time deposits declined by Rs 1,997 crore, demand deposits rose by Rs 4,922 crore. Aggregate deposits of SCBs as on January 25, 2002, stood at Rs 10,76,158 crore.

The credit-deposit ratio of SCBs stood at 52.86 per cent as on January 25 against 52.72 per cent as on January 11. This further indicates that there is a revival of credit offtake from the banking system.

The ways and means advances, which is a temporary overdraft facility extended by the RBI to the Central government, stood at Rs 6,145 crore as on February 1.