The country's foreign exchange reserves increased by $3.378 billion to touch a lifetime high of $545.038 billion in the week ended September 18, RBI data showed. In the previous week ended September 11, the reserves had declined by $353 million to $541.660 billion.
During the reporting week, the forex kitty rose mainly due to an increase in foreign currency assets (FCA), a major component of the overall reserves. FCAs swelled by $3.943 billion to $501.464 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 $580 million in the reporting week to $37.440 billion.
The special drawing rights with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) were up by $1 million to $1.483 billion. The country's reserve position with the IMF rose by $14 million to $4.651 billion during the reporting week, as per the data.
