The country’s foreign exchange reserves increased by $1.73 billion to $487.04 billion in the week to May 15, which is equivalent to 12 months of imports, according to the Reserve Bank of India.
Between April 1 and May 15, the foreign exchange reserves have increased by $9.2 billion. In the week ended May 8, the reserves had surged by $4.23 billion to $485.31 billion. It had touched a life-time high of $487.23 billion in the week to March 6, after it rose by $5.69 billion.
The increase in reserves in the week ended May 15 was on account of a rise in foreign currency assets (FCA), a major component of the overall reserves. FCA rose by $1.12 billion to $448.67 billion in the reporting week, RBI data 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.
The gold reserves rose $616 million to $32.91 billion in the reporting week, the RBI data showed. In the reporting week, the special drawing rights with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) was up by $2 million to $1.42 billion.
The country’s reserve position with the IMF dipped by $13 million to $4.04 billion during the reporting week, the data showed.