India’s foreign exchange reserves rose by $2.6 billion to a one-month high of $586.11 billion as of Oct. 27, data from the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) showed on Friday.
The reserves had fallen by $2.4 billion in the previous week.
A $5 billion dollar/rupee swap conducted by the RBI last year, where it sold dollars and bought rupees, matured on Oct. 23, leading to a reversal of the trade. The reserves data for the week reflects the impact of this maturity.
“The forex reserves this week reflect the maturity of the swap, alongside the revaluation changes,” said Gaura Sen Gupta, India economist at IDFC First Bank.
“Plus, the RBI’s spot intervention, which it has likely been quite regular, would have been accounted for.”
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 slightly lower against the U.S. dollar and traded in the 83.0650-83.2550 range in the week ending Oct. 27.
The currency settled at 83.2750 on Friday, largely flat for the week, after hitting a record low of 83.2950 on Wednesday.
FOREIGN EXCHANGE RESERVES (in million U.S. dollars)
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Oct 27 Oct 20
2023 2023
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Foreign currency assets 517,504 515,202
Gold 45,923 45,425
SDRs 17,910 17,925
Reserve Tranche Position 4,773 4,980
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Total 586,111 583,532
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