MUMBAI: India’s foreign exchange reserves snapped a five-week losing streak and rose to $585.9 billion as of Oct. 13, data from the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) showed on Friday.
The reserves rose $1.16 billion from an over five-month low in the previous week.
India’s forex reserves had declined $14.2 billion in the previous five weeks.
The RBI intervenes in the spot and forwards markets to prevent runaway moves in the rupee.
Governor Shaktikanta Das on Friday reiterated that the central bank’s forex market interventions are aimed at preventing excessive volatility and facilitating orderly moves.
Changes in foreign currency assets are caused by the RBI’s intervention as well as the appreciation or depreciation of foreign assets held in the reserves.
Foreign exchange reserves also include India’s reserve tranche position in the International Monetary Fund.
The rupee was largely flat against the U.S. dollar and traded in the 83.12-83.27 range in the week ending Oct. 13.
The currency settled at 83.1225 on Friday and logged its best weekly rise in two months.
---------------------------------------------------FOREIGN EXCHANGE RESERVES (in million U.S. dollars)--------------------------------------------------- Oct. 13, Oct. 6, 2023 2023 Foreign currency assets 519,351 519,529 Gold 43,575 42,306 SDRs 17,995 17,923 Reserve Tranche Position 4,975 4,983 Position Total 585,895 584,742---------------------------------------------------