Forex reserves rise $4.23 bn to $597.51 bn

India's forex reserves increased by $4.23 billion to $597.51 billion for the week ended May 20 on the back of a high accretion of core currency assets, according to RBI data.

The country's foreign exchange reserves had declined by $2.68 billion to $593.28 billion in the previous reporting week ended May 13.

During the reporting week, the rise in the reserves was mainly on account of an increase in Foreign Currency Assets (FCA), a major component of the overall reserves, and gold reserves, as per weekly data released by Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on Friday.

FCAs increased by $3.83 billion to $533.38 billion in the week.

Expressed in dollar terms, the FCAs include the effect of appreciation or depreciation of non-US units like the euro, pound and yen held in the foreign exchange reserves.

Gold reserves increased by $253 million to $40.823 billion.

The Special Drawing Rights (SDRs) with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) climbed $102 million to $18.31 billion, RBI said.

The country's reserve position with the IMF increased by $51 million to $5.00 billion in the reporting week, the data showed.