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India’s foreign exchange reserves rose by $1.983 billion to $688.129 billion during the week ended April 25, marking the eighth consecutive weekly increase, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) said on Friday. In the previous week, reserves had surged by $8.31 billion to $686.145 billion.
The reserves remain below the all-time high of $704.885 billion recorded at the end of September 2024.
During the reporting week, foreign currency assets (FCAs), the largest component of the reserves, increased by $2.168 billion to $580.663 billion. FCAs are reported in dollar terms and reflect the valuation impact of non-US currencies like the euro, pound, and yen held in the reserves.
Gold reserves declined by $207 million to $84.365 billion. Special Drawing Rights (SDRs) with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) rose by $21 million to $18.589 billion, while India’s reserve position with the IMF increased by $2 million to $4.512 billion.
As of April 25, the RBI reported no outstanding loans or advances to the central government, consistent with previous weeks. However, loans and advances to state governments stood at Rs 22,324 crore, a sharp decline from Rs 36,792 crore on April 18. Despite the week-on-week drop, borrowings remained higher than the Rs 13,284 crore recorded on April 26, 2024.
Since the end of March 2025, forex reserves have grown by Rs 1,67,068 crore ($19.80 billion), led by an increase of Rs 1,10,162 crore ($13.11 billion) in FCAs. Gold holdings also posted a significant gain of Rs 52,623 crore ($6.19 billion), while SDRs and the IMF reserve position rose by Rs 3,528 crore ($420 million) and Rs 755 crore ($88 million), respectively.
On a year-on-year basis, reserves were up by Rs 5,61,953 crore ($50.21 billion) from April 26, 2024. This included a Rs 2,95,722 crore ($20.96 billion) rise in FCAs and a Rs 2,57,904 crore ($28.83 billion) increase in gold reserves. SDRs rose by Rs 8,378 crore ($540 million), while the reserve position in the IMF saw a marginal decline of Rs 51 crore ($127 million), reflecting overall strength and adequacy in India’s external buffer.
The RBI clarified that FCAs exclude SDR holdings and do not include investments in IIFC (UK) bonds or funds lent under SAARC and ACU currency swap arrangements. This ensures that the reported figures represent readily available foreign currency liquidity.
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