India's foreign exchange reserves surged by $10.51 billion to $692.87 billion in the week ended July 31, pushing the country's reserves to their highest level in more than two months, according to data released by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on Friday.
The latest increase follows a $6.1 billion rise in the previous reporting week, when the country's forex reserves stood at $682.35 billion.
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India's foreign exchange reserves had climbed to an all-time high of $728.494 billion in February this year. They subsequently retreated amid heightened geopolitical tensions in the Middle East, which put pressure on the rupee and prompted the Reserve Bank of India to intervene in the foreign exchange market through dollar sales to contain excessive volatility.
Since May 11, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has repeatedly urged citizens to help conserve foreign exchange by cutting discretionary overseas travel, reducing fuel consumption and refraining from buying gold for a year.
Foreign currency assets (FCAs), the largest component of the reserves, rose by $8.75 billion to $564.68 billion during the reporting week, RBI data showed. FCAs, expressed in dollar terms, include the impact of appreciation or depreciation of non-US currencies such as the euro, pound sterling and Japanese yen held in the country's foreign exchange reserves.
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Gold reserves also registered a sharp increase, rising by $1.69 billion to $104.74 billion.
Meanwhile, Special Drawing Rights (SDRs) with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) increased by $48 million to $18.67 billion during the week. India's reserve position with the IMF also rose by $28 million to $4.78 billion, according to the RBI data.
