India's forex reserves rise $4.74 bn to $693.62 bn as of August 8

India's forex reserves surged by $4.74 billion to $693.62 billion for the week ending August 8, data by the Reserve Bank of India showed on Friday.

The country’s foreign exchange reserves stood at $688.87 billion as of August 1, down by $9.32 billion from the previous week.

The forex reserves had touched an all-time high of $704.885 billion in end-September 2024.


For the week ending on August 8, foreign currency assets, a major component of the reserves, increased $2.37 billion to $583.98 billion, the 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 were up by $2.16 billion to stand at $86.16 billion during the week, the RBI said.

The special drawing rights (SDR) were up $169 million to $18.74 billion, the central bank said.

As per the data, India's reserve position with the IMF was up by $45 million at $4.73 billion in the reporting week.

Typically, the RBI, from time to time, intervenes in the market through liquidity management, including through the selling of dollars, with a view to preventing a steep depreciation in the rupee.

The RBI closely monitors the foreign exchange markets and intervenes only to maintain orderly market conditions by containing excessive volatility in the exchange rate, without reference to any pre-determined target level or band.