Forex reserves scale new peak, sniff at $656 billion

For the week ended June 7, the foreign currency assets, which are the largest component of the reserves, jumped by $3.773 billion to $576.337 billion, according to the weekly statistical supplement from the RBI issued Friday.

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

Gold reserves also rose by $481 million to $56.982 billion during the week, the RBI said, while the special drawing rights gained by $43 million to $18.161 billion and the country’s reserve position with the IMF rose by $10 million to $4.336 billion in the reporting week.

Last week, while addressing the press after the monetary policy announcement, the governor Shaktikanta Das had ruled out any problem in managing the influx of foreign capital resulting from the JP Morgan’s bond index inclusion, stating that the central bank is well-prepared to handle them. He said, “The RBI has a number of instruments. We have managed it in the past. We will manage it this time also. So, no worries on that score.”