Forex reserves surge by USD 4.34 bn to USD 581.21 bn

After declining for two consecutive quarters, the country's foreign exchange (forex) reserves surged by USD 4.34 billion to USD 581.21 billion in the week ended April 9, according to the latest RBI data.

In the previous week ended April 2, the reserves had dipped by USD 2.42 billion to USD 576.28 billion. It had dropped by USD 2.99 billion to USD 579.28 billion in the week ended March 26, 2021.

The reserves had touched a lifetime high of USD 590.18 billion in the week ended January 29, 2021.

In the reporting week ended April 9, 2021, the increase in forex reserves was on account of a rise in foreign currency assets (FCA), a major component of the overall reserves.

FCA rose USD 3.02 billion to USD 539.45 billion, the Reserve Bank of India's (RBI) weekly data showed.

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

The gold reserves increased by USD 1.30 billion to USD 35.32 billion in the reporting week, the RBI data showed.

The special drawing rights (SDRs) with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) rose USD 6 million to USD 1.49 billion in the reporting week.

The country's reserve position with the IMF rose USD 24 million to USD 4.95 billion in the reporting week, the data showed.