India's forex reserves jump USD 14.14 billion to USD 707 billion

India's foreign exchange reserves jumped by $14.14 billion to $707 billion during the week ended August 7, according to data released by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on Friday. The sharp weekly increase was driven largely by a rise in foreign currency assets and gold reserves. India's overall forex reserves stood at $692.87 billion in the previous reporting week.

Foreign assets rise

Foreign currency assets (FCA), the largest component of the country's forex reserves, increased by $9.95 billion during the week to $574.63 billion. Expressed in dollar terms, foreign currency assets also take into account the effect of appreciation or depreciation of non-US currencies such as the euro, pound and yen held in India's reserves. Gold reserves also registered a substantial increase, rising by nearly $4 billion to $108.74 billion during the week. Special Drawing Rights (SDRs) increased by $79 million to $18.75 billion, while India's reserve position with the International Monetary Fund rose by $116 million to $4.89 billion.

Higher since March

The latest data showed that India's total foreign exchange reserves were $15.89 billion higher compared with the end of March 2026.

Foreign currency assets have increased by $22.34 billion since March-end to $574.63 billion. The value of the RBI's gold reserves, however, remained $6.66 billion lower than the March-end level despite the sharp increase during the latest reporting week.

On a year-on-year basis, India's total forex reserves were $13.38 billion higher. Foreign currency assets were $9.35 billion lower compared with a year earlier, while the value of gold reserves was $22.58 billion higher, helping offset the decline in foreign currency assets.

India's forex reserves had touched an all-time high of $728.49 billion in the week ended February 27 this year.