India's forex reserves surge $1.51B to $658B, reversing previous declines
What's the story
India's foreign exchange (forex) reserves surged by a whopping $1.51 billion to $658.091 billion for the week ending November 29, data released by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) showed.
The rise comes after a streak of weekly declines, with the total reserves having dropped by $1.31 billion to $656.582 billion in the previous reporting week, and witnessing a record fall of $17.761 billion in the week before it.
Record high
Forex reserves reached a record high in September
In late September, India's forex reserves had hit an all-time high of $704.885 billion. However, the following weeks witnessed a declining trend.
The latest increase in reserves is mainly due to an increase in foreign currency assets (FCAs), which form the largest chunk of the reserves.
FCAs increased by $2.061 billion to $568.852 billion for the week ending November 29, according to RBI.
Reserve components
FCAs and gold reserves: A mixed picture
FCAs are denominated in US Dollar terms and take into account the impact of appreciation or depreciation of non-US units such as the Euro, Pound, and Yen held in the forex reserves.
Gold reserves, meanwhile, witnessed a decline during the week. The RBI said that gold reserves fell by $595 million to $66.979 billion during the week ending November 29.
Minor gains
SDRs and IMF reserve position show slight increase
The Special Drawing Rights (SDRs) with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) increased marginally by $22 million to $18.007 billion for the week ending November 29.
India's reserve position with the IMF also increased marginally by $22 million to $4.254 billion during the same reporting week, according to RBI data.