India’s foreign exchange reserves reach a record high of $674.91 billion, with a weekly increase of $7.53 billion

In Summary: India’s foreign exchange reserve reached a new high at $674.91 billion for the reporting week to August 2, indicating a robust external sector performance. The rupee had dipped by $3.47 billion to $667.39 billion for the week to July 26, as the forex reserves dipped by $3.47 billion. The rupee has been under stress throughout July, but gained 8 paise to close at 83.90 on Friday.

The foreign currency assets rose by $5.1 billion to $592.04 billion, while gold reserves expanded by $2.4 billion to $60 billion. Special drawing rights fell by $41 million to $18.161 billion.

According to statistics provided by the Reserve Bank of India on Friday (Aug 9 2024), India’s foreign exchange reserve reached a new high of $674.91 billion for the reporting week ending August 2, up a healthy $7.53 billion from the previous week. This indicates a strong performance by the country’s external sector. For the week ending July 26, the foreign exchange reserves decreased by $3.47 billion to $667.39 billion due to the rupee’s range-bound behavior and many new lows. As of July 19, the previous all-time high was $670.86 billion.

The rupee experienced stress in July, causing a plunge to an all-time low of 83.97. However, it gained 8 paise to close at 83.90. Governor Shaktikanta Das attributed the high reserves to a robust external sector performance.

“In general, our external sector continues to be robust as important metrics are getting better. We are still optimistic that we can easily achieve our external finance obligations,” Das had stated.