Forex Boom: India Sees Largest Weekly Jump In Reserves In Over 2 Years By $15.26 Billion

In the week ended March 7, 2025, the country's forex reserves reached $653.966 billion. At their peak, forex reserves reached a record high of $704.885 billion in September 2024.

Comparatively, the previous week clocked a decline of $1.781 billion, bringing the total reserves down to $638.698 billion, data from RBI revealed on Friday.

Source : ABPLIVE AI

India's foreign exchange reserves saw a significant rise, increasing by $15.267 billion to reach $653.966 billion in the week ending March 7, according to data from the Reserve Bank of India (RBI). This marked the sharpest weekly jump seen in more than two years. 

Comparatively, the previous week clocked a decline of $1.781 billion, bringing the total reserves down to $638.698 billion, the data revealed on Friday.

Notably, the forex reserves have been on a downward trend lately due to market interventions by the central bank, done to curb volatilities in the domestic currency, and revaluation, reported PTI.

At their peak, forex reserves reached a record high of $704.885 billion in September last year towards the end of the month. However, the major surge in reserves seen during the first week of March 2025 can be largely attributed to the $10 billion forex swap conducted by the RBI on February 28. In the swap, the central bank purchased US dollars against Indian rupee to help enhance the liquidity in the banking system and stabilise the market conditions.

Breakdown of Reserve Components

Foreign currency assets, which constitute the largest portion of the reserves, grew by $13.993 billion, reaching $557.282 billion during the period under review, the RBI data revealed. The valuation of these assets is influenced by fluctuations in major currencies such as the euro, pound, and yen, besides the US dollar.

Gold reserves also saw an uptick, rising by $1.053 billion to $74.325 billion during the week, while, Special Drawing Rights (SDRs) climbed by $212 million to settle at $18.21 billion. 

On the other hand, India's reserve position with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) saw a slight decline, dropping by $69 million to $4.148 billion for the week.