Forex reserves up by USD 917.5 mn to USD 352.474 bn

Country's foreign exchange reserves rose by USD 917.5 million to touch USD 352.474 billion in the week to May 29, helped by surge in foreign currency assets, according to RBI data.
In the previous week, the reserves had declined by USD 2.319 billion to USD 351.557 billion, after touching a record high of USD 353.876 billion in the week to May 15.
In the second bi-monthly monetary policy announced on June 2, Reserve Bank Governor Raghuram Rajan said foreign exchange reserves are around USD 350 billion which provides a strong second line of defence to good macroeconomic policies if external markets turn significantly volatile.

The foreign currency assets, a major component of the overall reserves, were up USD 980.4 million to USD 327.819 billion in the reporting week, RBI data showed.
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.
The gold reserves remained stable at USD 19.335 billion.
The special drawing rights with the International Monetary Fund were down by USD 47.5 million to USD 4.017 billion, while the country's reserve position with the fund also dipped by USD 15.4 million to USD 1.302 billion, the data showed.