India's foreign exchange reserves increased $2.95 billion to $645.58 billion for the week ended March 29, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) said on Friday.

This is the sixth consecutive week of a jump in overall reserves.

The kitty had increased $140 million to $642.63 billion in the previous reporting week.

The country's forex kitty had in September 2021 reached an all-time high of $642.45 billion.

The reserves took a hit as the central bank deployed the kitty to defend the rupee amid pressures caused majorly by global developments since last year.

For the week ended March 29, the foreign currency assets, a major component of the reserves, increased $2.35 billion to $570.62 billion, data released on Friday showed.

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 $673 million to $52.16 billion during the week, the RBI said.

The Special Drawing Rights (SDRs) were down $73 million to $18.145 billion, the apex bank said.

India's reserve position with the IMF was also down $2 million to $4.66  billion in the reporting week, the apex bank data showed.