India’s forex reserves top $609.02 billion

Mumbai, The Gulf Observer: India’s foreign exchange reserves rose for a third straight week and stood at $609.02 billion as of July 14, the highest in nearly 15 months, the Reserve Bank of India’s (RBI) data showed on Friday.

The reserves rose by $12.74 billion from the week earlier, the biggest gain in four months. Reserves had risen by a total of $3.08 billion in the prior two weeks.

“A major portion of the week-on-week jump in forex reserves is driven by revaluation gains due to dollar weakness and reduction in U.S. Treasury yields,” said Gaura Sen Gupta, India economist at IDFC FIRST Bank.

The remaining rise is due to the RBI’s forex purchases in the spot foreign exchange markets, she said, adding that the central bank will keep the rupee in a tight range this year.