India’s forex reserves surge by $2.838 billion, reaching record high of $692.3 billion: RBI

India's foreign exchange (forex) reserves surged $2.838 billion to reach a new high of $692.3 billion as of the week ended September 20, compared with $689.4 billion as of September 13, according to data collected from the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) press release on Friday, September 27.

The central bank's data showed that the foreign currency asset, which is the major contributor to the forex reserves, increased $2.057 billion to $605.686 billion as of September 20, compared to $603.629 billion as of September 13, according to the RBI data.

The forex reserves are stated in the RBI report in the United States dollar; the foreign currency assets include the effect of appreciation or depreciation of non-US units like the pound, euro, and yen held in the foreign exchange reserves.

The RBI data also showed a $726 million increase in Gold reserves to $63.613 billion in the latest filing, compared to $62.887 billion in the September 13 data. Gold is the second largest contributor to India's forex reserve.

Two other elements contribute to foreign exchange reserves: Special Drawing Rights (SDRs) and the Reserve position in the International Monetary Fund (IMF). According to the RBI data release, the SDRs increased by $121 million to $18.540 billion as of September 20, compared to their previous level of $18.419 billion on September 13.

India's reserve position with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) fell $65 million to $4.458 billion as of the latest data filing, compared to $4.523 billion in the previous week's data, highlighted the RBI's weekly data release.

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) intervenes in the foreign exchange market to keep the volatility in the Indian currency (Indian Rupee) in check. RBI's intervention causes a change in foreign currency assets, as well as the appreciation and depreciation of the foreign currencies held as reserves.