Forex reserves up USD 116.4 mn to USD 393.404 bn

The country's foreign exchange reserves increased by USD 116.4 million to USD 393.404 billion in the week to December 28, on account of rise in foreign currency assets, according to RBI data.

In the previous week, the reserves had increased by USD 167.2 million to USD 393.287 billion.

In the reporting week, foreign currency assets, a major component of the overall reserves, rose by USD 106.3 million to USD 368.077 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 remained unchanged at USD 21.224 billion in the reporting week, the data showed.

The special drawing rights with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) increased by USD 3.6 million to USD 1.462 billion.

The country's reserve position with the IMF also surged by USD 6.5 million to USD 2.640 billion, the apex bank said.