BENGALURU: India’s foreign exchange reserves rose for a fifth straight week to hit a record high of $642.63 billion as of March 22, data from the central bank showed on Friday.

The reserves jumped by $139 million in the reporting week.

Changes in foreign currency assets, expressed in dollar terms, include the effect of appreciation or depreciation of other currencies held in its reserves.

Foreign exchange reserves include India’s Reserve Tranche position in the International Monetary Fund.

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) intervenes in the foreign exchange market to curb excess volatility in the rupee.

India’s forex reserves hit record high

The domestic currency settled at 83.40 against the dollar on Thursday. India’s financial markets were closed on Friday for a holiday.

FOREIGN EXCHANGE RESERVES (in million U.S. dollars)----------------------------------------------------                            March 22     March 15                               2024         2024----------------------------------------------------Foreign currency assets      568,264      568,386Gold                          51,487       51,140SDRs                          18,219       18,276Reserve Tranche Position       4,662        4,689----------------------------------------------------Total                        642,631      642,492----------------------------------------------------