)
The Reserve Bank of India's (RBI) foreign exchange reserves are near 28 month high, a level which is seen comfortable by the street to tackle global crisis.
Foreign exchange reserves rose by a whopping $5.04 billion for the week ending March 28 to $303.67 billion, shows Reserve Bank of India (RBI) data released Friday. The reserves had last risen by a similar quantum in the week ending November 29, 2013 and the rise was $5.04 billion to $291.30 billion.
The latest data shows that the foreign exchange reserves are near December 9, 2011 level. For the week ending December 9, the reserve position was at $306.78 billion.
ALSO READ: RBI may keep shoring up reserves as rupee gains: DBS
Foreign currency assets, a key component of reserves rose by $5.01 billion to $276.41 billion. Gold reserves remained unchanged during the week at $20.98 billion.
Foreign exchange reserves had hit a 39 month low on 6 September when it touched $274 billion. Following several steps taken by the central bank to encourage inflows, the reserves started rising.
ALSO READ: Until you get forex reserves to Chinese levels, it is probably not enough: Raghuram Rajan
For the week under review, the Special Drawing Rights (SDRs) fell by $3.6 million to $4.46 billion, while India's reserve position with the International Monetary Fund was up $30 million to $1.83 billion.
“If you focus on reserves, there is no point when you feel safe. Until you get to Chinese levels, it is probably not enough. Our focus should be on creating a policy environment that gives investors confidence. On the financial front, at RBI, we are trying to provide this kind of confidence,” said RBI governor Raghuram Rajan in a post monetary policy conference call earlier this week.
