Forex Reserves Hit Lifetime High, Rise $2.8 Billion To $592.894 Billion

Data released by RBI on Friday showed the country’s foreign exchange reserves rose by $2.865 billion to a record high of $592.894 billion for the week that ended on May 21, boosted by gold and currency assets, surpassing the previous all-time high of $590.185 billion for the week that ended on January 29, 2021. 

For the previous week, that ended on May 14, reserves had risen by $563 million to reach $590.028 billion. Foreign currency assets (FCA), a major component of overall reserves, swelled by $1.649 billion to $548.519 billion for the reporting week, RBI said.

Expressed in dollar terms, foreign currency assets include the effect of appreciation or depreciation of non-US units like the euro, pound and yen, held in foreign exchange reserves. 

After remaining unchanged in the previous week, gold reserves rose by $1.187 billion to $36.841 billion, the apex bank said, along with the special drawing rights (SDRs) with the International Monetary Fund (IMF), which rose by $7 million to $1.513 billion.   

The country’s reserve position with IMF too increased by $22 million to $5.021 billion in the reporting week, as per the data.