Forex reserves surge by $2.296 bn to $537.548 bn

Gold reserves were down by $331 million to $37.264 billion.

The country's foreign exchange reserves rose by $2.296 billion to reach $537.548 billion in the week to August 21, RBI data showed on Friday.

In the previous week ended August 14, the reserves had declined by $2.939 billion to $535.252 billion.

The forex kitty had increased by $3.623 billion to reach a record high of $538.191 billion in the week ended August 7.

In the reporting week, the increase in reserves was mainly due to a jump in foreign currency assets (FCAs), a major component of the overall reserves.

FCAs rose by $2.618 billion to $494.168 billion in the reporting week, the central bank data showed.

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.

Gold reserves were down by $331 million in the reporting week to $37.264 billion.

The special drawing rights with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) rose $2 million to $1.481 billion.

The country's reserve position with the IMF also increased by $6 million to $4.634 billion during the reporting week, the data showed.

Photograph: Hafidz Mubarak/Reuters