Forex kitty jumps $3.5 bn to $599.53 bn

Rising for the second consecutive week, India's forex kitty jumped $3.55 billion to $599.53 billion for the week ended May 12, the RBI said on Friday.

The overall reserves had jumped by $7.2 billion to $595.98 billion for the previous reporting week.

It can be noted that in October 2021, the country's forex kitty had reached an all-time high of $645 billion.

The reserves have been declining as the central bank deploys the kitty to defend the rupee amid pressures caused majorly by global developments.

For the week ended May 12, the foreign currency assets, a major component of the reserves, increased by nearly $3.58 billion to $529.6 billion, according to the Weekly Statistical Supplement released by the RBI on Friday.

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 $38 million to $46.35 billion, the RBI said.

The Special Drawing Rights (SDRs) were down by $35 million to $18.41 billion, the apex bank added.

The country's reserve position with the IMF was down by $28 million to $5.164 billion in the reporting week, the apex bank data showed.