Forex Reserves Rise To $694.2 Billion, Reversing Previous Week's Decline

India's foreign exchange reserves rose to $694.23 billion for the week ended Aug. 29, according to data from the Reserve Bank of India on Friday.

The country's forex kitty rose by $3.5 billion over the previous reporting week. In the previous reporting week, the reserves had fallen to $690.72 billion.

The Indian rupee tumbled to a new record low on Friday, falling 21 paise to trade at 88.36 against the US Dollar, weighed down by persistent foreign fund outflows and renewed global trade tensions.

The currency also came under pressure as FIIs offloaded equities worth Rs 106.34 crore on Thursday.

For the week ended Aug. 29, foreign currency assets — a major component of the reserves — declined $1.69 billion to $583.94 billion, according to the RBI data. In dollar terms, foreign currency assets include the effect of the appreciation or depreciation of non-US units like the euro, pound and yen held in foreign exchange reserves.

Gold reserves decreased by $1.76 billion to $86.76 billion during the week.

India ranks as the fourth-largest holder of foreign exchange reserves, sufficient to cover nearly a year of imports. The country's forex holdings are the fourth largest, after China, Japan and Switzerland.