By Anjali Sharma
WASHINGTON – India’s foreign exchange reserves on Friday have increased by $2.49 billion to $719.547 billion in the week ended November 6, as per the data shared by the Reserve Bank of India .

This came after consecutive weeks of decline, during which the reserves had slipped from $722.3 billion in the week ended October 17 to $717.057 billion by October 30.

The central bank’s data showed that the uptick in reserves was majorly driven by a sharp rise in gold holdings that surged by $2.205 billion to $104.796 billion during the week.

It highlights that the foreign currency assets forming the largest component of India’s forex reserves rose by $232 million to $591.350 billion.

These assets are influenced by changes in the value of non-US currencies such as the euro, pound, and yen that are held in the reserves.

The country’s Special Drawing Rights with the International Monetary Fund climbed by $52 million to $18.610 billion, while its reserve position with the global body increased by $1 million to $4.791 billion.

In rupee terms, India’s total foreign exchange reserves stood at Rs 67,58,986 crore as of November 6.

The weekly increase in dollar terms came when the reserves declined by Rs 49,742 crore in rupee terms, the data shows.

India’s forex reserves touched an all-time high of $785.7 billion in the week ended September 4, after significant foreign currency inflows through a special concessional swap scheme for diaspora deposits.