India's Forex Reserves Rise to $658.1 Billion After Eight-Week Decline

India's foreign exchange reserves rose to $658.1 billion for the week ending Nov. 29, according to data from the Reserve Bank of India released on Friday. The increase follows an eight-week decline in reserves.

The country's forex kitty rose by $1.5 billion over the previous reporting week. In the previous reporting week, the reserves had dropped by $1.31 billion to $656.58 billion.

Foreign investors have pumped in Rs 1.75 lakh crore into the country's debt and equity markets so far this year, according to data from the National Securities Depository Ltd.

The month of November has seen Rs 32,210.22 crore make its way out of Indian bonds and equities, while in October FPIs pulled Rs 96,358 crore out of the Indian markets. In the same period, the Indian rupee has been under pressure amid a strong dollar and incessant foreign outflows. The RBI typically intervenes in the currency market using its dollar reserve to stabilise the local currency from high volatility.

For the week ended Nov. 29, foreign currency assets—a major component of the reserves—fell to $568.854 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 to $66.98 billion during the week.

As of Friday, gold prices rose and stood at Rs 76,520, according to the India Bullion Association. The price of the commodity crossed the Rs 77,000 mark on Thursday, after it had dipped to Rs 76,680 on Dec. 2.

Gold rates saw a significant decline throughout the previous month as the demand for the commodity was lower.

The futures prices for Feb. 5, 2025, stood at Rs 76,458 per 10 grams, according to the Multi Commodity Exchange.