The reserves climbed to an all-time high of $705 billion in September 2024, but have been under pressure lately

Illustration: Dado Ruvic/Reuters

India’s foreign exchange reserves jumped by $14 billion to $701 billion during the week ended January 16, the Reserve Bank said on Friday.

The overall reserves had increased by $392 million to $687 billion in the preceding week.

The reserves climbed to an all-time high of $705 billion in September 2024, but have been under pressure lately, especially as the currency buffers get deployed to check undue volatilities in the rupee.

During the week ended January 16, foreign currency assets, a major component of the reserves, jumped by $9.6 billion to $560.52 billion, the data released by the central bank showed.

Expressed in dollar terms, the foreign currency assets include the effects of appreciation or depreciation of non-US units, such as the euro, pound, and yen, held in the foreign exchange reserves.

Value of the gold reserves jumped by $4.62 billion to $117.45 billion during the week, the RBI said.

The Special Drawing Rights (SDRs) were down by $35 million to $18.70 billion, the apex bank said.

India’s reserve position with the IMF was also down by $73 million to $4.684 billion in the reporting week, according to the apex bank’s data.