Forex reserves up by USD 167.2 mn to USD 393.28 bn

The country's foreign exchange reserves increased by USD 167.2 million to USD 393.287 billion in the week to December 21, mainly due to a rise in foreign currency assets, according to RBI data.

In the previous week, the reserves had declined by USD 613.9 million to USD 393.12 billion.

In the reporting week, foreign currency assets, a major component of the overall reserves, rose by USD 105.2 million to USD 367.970 billion.

Expressed in US dollars, foreign currency assets include the effect of appreciation or depreciation of non-US currencies such as the euro, pound and yen held in the reserves.

The reserves had touched a record high of USD 426.028 billion in the week to April 13, 2018. Since then, the forex kitty has been on a slide and is now down by over USD 31 billion.

Gold reserves rose by USD 37.2 million to USD 21.224 billion in the reporting week, the data showed.

The special drawing rights with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) increased by USD 8.9 million to USD 1.459 billion.

The country's reserve position with the IMF also surged by USD 15.9 million to USD 2.633 billion, the apex bank said.