MUMBAI: India’s foreign exchange reserves rose for a second straight week and stood at $578.78 billion, highest since early July, as of the week ended March 24, the Reserve Bank of India’s (RBI) statistical supplement showed on Friday.

That is an increase of $5.98 billion from the previous week.

The central bank intervenes in the spot and forwards market to prevent runaway moves in the rupee’s exchange rate against the dollar. Changes in the forex reserves also stem from valuation gains or losses.

India’s forex reserves rise to over six-week high, now at $572.8bn

In the week ended March 24, the rupee was marginally higher against the dollar, trading in the 82.0700 to 82.7050 range.

The rupee ended at 82.1650 on Friday and logged its biggest weekly rise in nearly a month. The Indian unit fell 7.8% against the greenback in 2022-23.