India's forex kitty swells by USD 12.74 billion to USD 609.02 billion

India's forex reserves have swelled by USD 12.743 billion to USD 609.022 billion in the week ended July 14, making it one of the strongest weekly surges in the kitty in recent times, the Reserve Bank of India said on Friday.

In the previous reporting week, the overall reserves had risen by USD 1.23 billion to USD 596.28 billion.

It can be noted that in October 2021, the country's forex kitty had reached an all-time high of USD 645 billion. The reserves have been declining as the central bank deploys the kitty to defend the rupee amid pressures caused majorly by global developments. In the week ended January 13 this year, the overall kitty had expanded by USD 10.417 billion.

For the week ended July 14, the foreign currency assets, a major component of the reserves, increased by USD 11.198 billion to USD 540.166 billion, according to the Weekly Statistical Supplement released by the RBI on Friday.

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

Gold reserves were up by USD 1.137 billion to USD 45.197 billion, the RBI said.

The Special Drawing Rights (SDRs) were up by USD 250 million to USD 18.484 billion, the apex bank said.

The country's reserve position with the IMF was up by USD 158 million to USD 5.175 billion in the reporting week, the apex bank data showed.