Indian forex reserves hit record high of $656bn

MUMBAI: India’s foreign exchange reserves rose for a second straight week to hit a record high of $655.82 billion as of June 7, the central bank said on Friday.

The reserves rose by $4.3 billion in the reporting week, adding to last week’s $4.8 billion increase.

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) intervenes in the foreign exchange market to curb excess volatility in the rupee.

Changes in foreign currency assets are caused by the RBI’s intervention as well as the appreciation or depreciation of foreign assets held in the reserves.

Foreign exchange reserves also include India’s reserve tranche position in the International Monetary Fund.

For the week to which the foreign exchange data pertains, the rupee traded in a range of 82.9475 to 83.5300 against the dollar, and logged a 0.1 per cent weekly rise. The currency settled at 83.5550 on Friday, down 0.2 per cent week-on-week.