India's forex kitty increases by $289 mn to $640.40 bn

India's forex exchange reserves increased by $289 million to $640.401 billion for the week ended November 19, the Reserve Bank said on Friday.

The overall reserves had declined by $763 million to $640.11 billion in the previous reporting week.

They had touched a life time high of $642.45 billion in the week ended September 3, 2021.

Foreign Currency Assets (FCA), a major component of the overall reserves, increased by $225 million to $575.71 billion, according to the Reserve Bank of India's (RBI) weekly data.

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

The value of the gold reserves continued their journey north, increasing by $152 million to $40.39 billion in the reporting week, the data showed.

The Special Drawing Rights (SDRs) with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) dipped by $74 million to $19.11 billion.

The country's reserve position with the IMF was down by $13 million to $5.19 billion in the reporting week.

Photograph: Morteza Nikoubazl/Reuters