Forex reserves up by $1.61 billion

Foreign exchange reserves grew by $1.61 billion to $296.05 billion for the second consecutive week on the back of a rise in the core foreign currency assets.

The total reserves had risen by $55.8 million to $293.44 billion in the previous reporting week, according to the RBI data.

Foreign currency assets, a major component of the forex reserves, rose by $1.57 billion to $261.10 billion for the week ended February 24, the Reserve Bank said today.

Foreign currency assets expressed in US dollar terms include the effect of appreciation or depreciation of the non-US currencies, such as the euro, pound and yen, held in the reserves, the apex bank said.

The gold reserves were unchanged at $26.73 billion, the apex bank said.

For the week under review, special drawing rights (SDRs) increased $25.3 million to $4.481 billion, while the country's reserve position in the IMF also swell by $15.2 million to $2.737 billion, the apex bank data showed.