MUMBAI (Reuters) – India’s foreign exchange reserves rose for a second straight week and stood at $630.6 billion as of January 31, the Reserve Bank of India Governor Sanjay Malhotra said on Friday.
The reserves increased by $1.1 billion in the reported week, after rising by $5.58 billion in the prior week.
Changes in foreign currency assets are caused by the central bank’s intervention in the forex market as well as the appreciation or depreciation of foreign assets held in the reserves.
The RBI intervenes on both sides of the forex market to curb undue volatility in the rupee.
The rupee had fallen 0.9% against the U.S. dollar in the week to January 31 and hit its then record low of 86.6525 per dollar, hurt by portfolio outflows and uncertainty around U.S. trade tariffs.
The rupee and other emerging market currencies have been under pressure amid concerns that U.S. President Donald Trump’s tariff plans and sanctions on countries could disrupt global trade and stoke inflation.
The domestic unit was last quoted at 87.4750 on Friday, and has declined 1% week-on-week so far.
The forex reserves also include India’s reserve tranche position in the International Monetary Fund.
(Reporting by Siddhi Nayak; Editing by Sonia Cheema)
