India's forex reserves up $1.65 bn to $586.4 bn, shows RBI data

India’s foreign currency reserves rose by $ 1.65 billion to $586.41 billion in the week ended April 14, 2023. The rise in reserves in the reporting week was on account of a $ 2.2 billion accretion to currency reserves that took them to $516.6 billion, shows Reserve Bank of India data.

Gold reserves, meanwhile, were valued at $46.17 billion, down by $0.52 billion in the reporting week, RBI data showed. Special Drawing Rights (SDRs) were down by $ 38 million to $18.41 billion. The reserve position with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) grew by just $12 million to $5.19 billion in the April 14 week.

But the country’s foreign exchange reserves were lower by $ 17.28 billion compared to a level a year ago.

RBI purchased $ 254 million worth of dollars on a net basis in February 2023. However, cumulatively sold dollars worth $ 26.26 billion from the end of March 2022.

The outstanding net forward purchase of hard currency stood at $ 20.47 billion as of end-February 2023, down from $ 21.72 billion at end of January 2023. The outstanding net forward purchases were $ 65.79 billion at the end of March 2022.