India's forex reserves rises for seventh straight week to $686.145 bn

The Special Drawing Rights (SDRs) were up by $212 million to $18.568 billion, the apex bank said

India's forex reserves jumped USD 8.31 billion to USD 686.145 billion for the week ended April 18, the RBI said on Friday.

This is the seventh consecutive week of a rise in the kitty, which had jumped by USD 1.567 billion to USD 677.835 billion in the previous reporting week ended April 11. The forex reserves had touched an all-time high of USD 704.885 billion in end-September 2024.

For the week ended April 18, foreign currency assets, a major component of the reserves, increased by USD 3.516 billion to USD 578.495 billion, the data released on Friday showed.

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 4.575 billion to USD 84.572 billion during the week, the RBI said.

The Special Drawing Rights (SDRs) were up by USD 212 million to USD 18.568 billion, the apex bank said. 

India's reserve position with the IMF also rose by USD 7 million to USD 4.51 billion in the reporting week, the apex bank data showed.