India’s forex reserves rise to above $700 billion on FX swap, gold rally

MUMBAI: India’s foreign exchange reserves rose to $701.36 billion as of January 16, compared with $687.19 billion a week earlier, the Reserve Bank of India said on Friday.

Reserves rose to above $700 billion for the first time since October, jumping $14.17 billion compared to the previous week.

A $10 billion FX swap was a key reason for the jump in reserves. The buy/sell swap involves the RBI buying dollars and injecting rupees in the first leg, which was settled on January 16.

The transaction will be reversed three years later and is part of the central bank’s measures to manage rupee liquidity in the banking system.

The central bank also saw a $4.6 billion rise in the value of its gold reserves as prices of the precious metal have soared. These reserves are now valued at $117.45 billion.

India’s RBI taps $2 billion-plus FX swaps to blunt liquidity hit from spot intervention, bankers say

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.

FOREIGN EXCHANGE RESERVES (in million U.S. dollars)