Forex reserves rise by $1.88 bn to record high of $611.89 bn

The country's foreign exchange reserves increased by $1.883 billion to touch a record high of $611.895 billion in the week ended July 9, RBI data showed on Friday.

In the previous week ended July 2, the reserves had surged by $1.013 billion to $610.012 billion.

In the reporting week ended July 9, the increase in forex reserves was on account of the rise in foreign currency assets (FCA), a major component of the overall reserves, the Reserve Bank of India's (RBI) weekly data showed.

FCA rose by $1.297 billion to $568.285 billion in the reporting week.

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 were up by $584 million to $36.956 billion in the reporting week, according to the data.

The special drawing rights (SDRs) with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) remained unchanged at $1.547 billion.

The country's reserve position with the IMF increased by $3 million to $5.107 billion in the reporting week, the data showed.

Photograph: Lee Jae-Won/Reuters