India’s forex reserves rise for 8th straight week, up nearly $2 billion to $688.13 billion
New Delhi: India’s foreign exchange reserves rose for the eighth week in a row, climbing by $1.98 billion to reach $688.13 billion for the week ended April 25, according to the Reserve Bank of India.
The previous week had seen a sharper rise of $8.31 billion, pushing the total to $686.15 billion.
Despite the steady buildup, the reserves are still shy of their all-time peak of $704.89 billion recorded at the end of September last year.
The latest increase was led by foreign currency assets, which expanded by $2.17 billion to $580.66 billion.
These assets, which make up the largest chunk of the reserves, are reported in US dollars and reflect valuation changes in other major currencies such as the euro, pound and yen.
In contrast, gold holdings fell by $207 million during the week to $84.37 billion. India’s Special Drawing Rights (SDRs) with the International Monetary Fund rose slightly by $21 million to $18.59 billion, and its reserve position in the IMF inched up by $2 million to $4.51 billion.
There were no outstanding loans or advances to the central government during the period, consistent with recent weeks.
Lending to state governments, however, stood at ₹22,324 crore — down from ₹36,792 crore the week before, but still well above the ₹13,284 crore reported a year ago.
Since the start of April, reserves have grown by ₹1.67 lakh crore (roughly $19.8 billion).
The bulk of the increase came from foreign currency assets, which rose by ₹1.10 lakh crore ($13.11 billion), while gold holdings added ₹52,623 crore ($6.19 billion). SDRs and the IMF position also posted modest gains.
On an annual basis, the reserve stockpile has expanded by ₹5.62 lakh crore ($50.21 billion).
Foreign currency assets grew by ₹2.96 lakh crore ($20.96 billion), and gold reserves by ₹2.58 lakh crore ($28.83 billion).
SDRs added ₹8,378 crore ($540 million), while the IMF reserve position declined marginally.
The RBI noted that its foreign currency asset figures exclude SDRs and do not reflect investments in IIFC (UK) bonds or funds extended under SAARC and ACU swap arrangements — a clarification meant to underscore the liquidity of the reported reserves.
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