MUMBAI: India’s foreign exchange reserves rose for a third straight week to a record high of $683.99 billion as of Aug. 30, data from the Reserve Bank of India showed on Friday.

The reserves rose by $2.3 billion in the reporting week, after having risen by a total of $11.6 billion in the prior two weeks.

The RBI intervenes in the foreign exchange market to prevent undue volatility in the Indian rupee.

Over the last month, the central bank likely bought and sold dollars, according to traders.

This led to the rupee holding a narrow range for extended periods.

India’s forex reserves hit record high

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.

In the week ending Aug. 30, the rupee had logged marginal weekly gains against the dollar.

The rupee settled at 83.9475 on Friday and was down 0.1% week-on-week.

Foreign exchange reserves (in million US dollars)--------------------------------------------------                              Aug 30       Aug 23                               2024         2024--------------------------------------------------Foreign currency assets      599,037      597,552Gold                          61,859       60,997SDRs                          18,468       18,459Reserve Tranche Position       4,622        4,680--------------------------------------------------Total                        683,987      681,688--------------------------------------------------