India's foreign exchange reserves rise by $321.7 mn to to $353.65 bn

Foreign currency assets rose by $314.2 mn to $329.25 bn

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI)'s foreign exchange reserves rose by $321.7 million for the week ending July 24 to $353.65 billion, show data released on Friday.

Foreign currency assets, a key component of foreign exchange reserves, rose by $314.2 million to $329.25 billion. During the week, gold reserves remained unchanged at $19.07 billion.

For the week under review, the special drawing rights (SDRs) rose by $5.8 million to $4.02 billion, while India's reserve position with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) stood at $1.30 billion, recording a rise of $1.8 million.

Meanwhile, on Friday the rupee ended weak at 64.14 compared with its previous close of 64.04 a dollar. According to currency dealers the rupee weakened due to month-end dollar demand from importers.

The depreciation would have been more if the central bank had not stepped in through state-run banks by selling dollars, dealers said.