India's forex kitty swells to $295.7 billion

India's forex reserves rose for the fifth consecutive week, adding $4.41 billion to $295.71 billion in the week ended December 6 on account of a rise in foreign currency assets, the Reserve Bank said.

Last week, the reserves recorded the single biggest weekly gain since October 2011 surging by a whopping $5.04 billion to $291.3 billion.

Foreign currency assets (FCAs), which form a major part of the overall reserves, jumped by $5.019 billion to $268.755 billion for the week under review, the RBI said.

FCAs, expressed in dollar terms, include the effect of appreciation or depreciation of the non-US currencies such as the euro, pound and yen, held in reserves.

During the week under review, the gold reserves dropped by $624.2 million to $20.603 billion, while the special drawing rights rose by $8.9 million to $4.442 billion.

India's reserve position with the IMF rose by $3.8 million to $1.909 billion during the period, the RBI data showed.