Dollar swap auction boosts forex kitty by USD 4.7 bn to USD 418.5 bn

The country's foreign exchange reserves soared by USD 4.368 billion to USD 418.515 billion in the week to April 26, helped by the second dollar-rupee swap auction, RBI data showed Friday.

In the swap auction conducted on April 23, the Reserve Bank had received bids worth USD 18.65 billion against USD 5 billion on offer. It accepted just five bids worth USD 5 billion.

In the previous week, the forex reserves had declined by USD 739.2 million to USD 414.147 billion.

In the reporting week, foreign currency assets, which are a major component of the overall reserves, rose by USD 4.387 billion to USD 390.421 billion.

Expressed in US dollar terms, foreign currency assets include the effect of appreciation/depreciation of non-US currencies like the euro, pound and yen held in the reserves.

The forex kitty had touched a life-time high of USD 426.028 billion in the week to April 13, 2018.

Gold reserves remained unchanged at USD 23.303 billion, according to the data.

The special drawing rights with the International Monetary Fund was down by USD 5.9 million to USD 1.449 billion.

The country's reserve position with the Fund also declined USD 13.6 million to USD 3.341 billion, the according to the Reserve Bank.