India’s gold reserves rose $296 million to $46.338 billion during the week ended November 24, while the special drawing rights (SDRs) were up $87 million to $18.218 billion
Forex Reserves Update: Increasing for the second week in a row, India’s foreign exchange reserves jumped $2.538 billion to hit a three-month high of $597.935 billion during the week ended November 24, according to the latest RBI data. In the week before that, the overall reserves had jumped $5.077 billion to $595.397 billion.
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In October 2021, India’s’s forex reserves had reached an all-time high of $645 billion. The reserves took a hit as the central bank deployed the reserves to defend the rupee amid pressures caused majorly by global developments since last year.
According to the latest RBI data for the week ended November 24, the foreign currency assets, a major component of the reserves, increased $2.14 billion to $528.531 billion.
Expressed in dollar terms, the foreign currency assets include the effect of appreciation or depreciation of non-US units like the euro, pound and yen held in the foreign exchange reserves.
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Gold reserves rose $296 million to $46.338 billion during the week, while the special drawing rights (SDRs) were up $87 million to $18.218 billion.
India’s reserve position with the IMF rose $14 million to $4.848 billion in the reporting week, the apex bank data showed.
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.
The Rupee
The Indian rupee on Friday traded in a range of 83.25 to 83.36 today as the dip on the dollar was bought by importers and oil companies. It finally settled at 83.33 against the US dollar.
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Forex analysts said easing crude oil prices in the international markets also favoured the local currency. Global crude price retreated from $84 to $80 per barrel as oil-producing countries’ grouping OPEC+ agreed not to reduce output in 2024.
On the rupee outlook, Anil Kumar Bhansali, head of treasury and executive director of Finrex Treasury Advisors LLP, said, “The rupee is expected to remain in the range of 83.00 to 83.50 in the coming week as inflows to the country increase. Next week, towards the end we have the NFPR, the mother of all data, which will indicate the tightness in US labour market as also FEDs stance on interest rates.”
India also has its last monetary policy on December 8, wherein the RBI is expected to keep interest rates same, but they could be hawkish looking to the robust data that we saw in the last month. The US FOMC, BOE and ECB are all due in the week after next week, these being the last for the year.
(With Agency Inputs)
