Forex kitty swells to all-time high of USD 340 billion

India's foreign exchange reserves shot up to an all-time high of USD 339.99 billion, after a USD 4.26-billion increase over the week ended March 20, driven by a rise in core currency assets, as per RBI data released today.
Total reserves had dropped by USD 2.06 billion to USD 335.73 billion in the previous week, after touching an all-time high at USD 338.079 billion a week earlier.
The foreign currency assets, the biggest component of the reserves, grew USD 4.54 billion to USD 314.88 billion for the week, as per the data.
Foreign currency assets, expressed in dollar terms, include the effect of appreciation and depreciation of non-US currencies such as the euro, pound and yen, held in the reserves.

However, the massive decline in the country's reserve position with the IMF, which was down USD 295.8 million to USD 1.289 billion.
The country's gold reserves remained unchanged at USD 19.837 billion for the reporting week.
The special drawing rights increased by USD 18.2 million to USD 3.978 billion for the reporting week.