India’s Forex Reserves Jump $4.75 Billion to Reach $693.6 Billion

Mumbai – India’s foreign exchange reserves rose by $4.75 billion to $693.62 billion for the week ending August 8, according to RBI data released on Friday.

The steady expansion of the forex kitty reflects the country’s robust macroeconomic fundamentals and provides the Reserve Bank of India greater room to support the rupee against the US dollar. A healthy reserve position allows the RBI to intervene in spot and forward markets by selling dollars to curb volatility and prevent sharp depreciation of the rupee.

For the week under review, foreign currency assets — the largest component of the reserves — increased by $2.84 billion to $583.98 billion. These assets, expressed in US dollar terms, also factor in the impact of changes in the value of non-dollar currencies like the euro, pound, and yen.

Gold reserves rose by $2.16 billion to $86.16 billion. Central banks across the globe have been adding gold to their reserves amid geopolitical uncertainty, and the RBI’s share of gold in total reserves has nearly doubled since 2021.

Special Drawing Rights (SDRs) held in reserves stood at $18.74 billion.

India’s forex reserves are currently enough to cover over 11 months of goods imports and around 96% of outstanding external debt, RBI Governor Sanjay Malhotra recently noted. He added, “India’s external sector remains resilient as key vulnerability indicators continue to improve. We are confident of meeting our external financing needs.”

Meanwhile, India’s merchandise exports rose 7.29% year-on-year in July to $37.24 billion, up from $34.71 billion in July last year, official data showed on Thursday. Commerce Secretary Sunil Barthwal highlighted that both goods and services exports in July and so far in FY26 have grown significantly, outperforming global trade growth.

Major contributors to the July export surge included engineering goods, electronics, pharmaceuticals, organic and inorganic chemicals, and gems and jewellery.

With inputs from IANS