India's forex kitty expands $10.47 billion to $636.095 billion: RBI data

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India's forex kitty jumped by USD 10.47 billion to USD 636.095 billion for the week ended March 8, the Reserve Bank said on Friday.

In the previous reporting week, the overall reserves had risen by USD 6.55 billion to USD 625.626 billion.

In October 2021, the country's forex kitty had reached an all-time high of USD 645 billion. The reserves took a hit as the central bank deployed the kitty to defend the rupee amid pressures caused majorly by global developments since last year.

For the week ended March 8, the foreign currency assets, a major component of the reserves, increased by USD 8.121 billion to USD 562.352 billion, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) said.

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

Gold reserves increased by USD 2.299 billion to USD 50.716 billion during the week, the RBI said.

The Special Drawing Rights (SDRs) were up by USD 31 million to USD 18.211 billion, the apex bank said.

India's reserve position with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) was also up by USD 19 million to USD 4.817 billion in the reporting week, the central bank data showed.