India's forex reserves dip about $5 billion in week ending May 16: RBI data
India's foreign exchange reserves (forex) dipped USD 4.888 billion to USD 685.729 billion in the week ending May 16, official data released by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) showed.
Estimates suggest that India's foreign exchange reserves sufficiently cover approximately 10-12 months of projected imports. Even with this weekly loss, the forex kitty is quite close to its all-time high of USD 704.89 billion, reached in September 2024.
Recently, forex reserves extended gains for the eighth straight week, helping them inch closer to their previous peak after a consistent slump for about four months. The latest RBI data showed that India's foreign currency assets (FCA), the largest component of foreign exchange reserves, stood at USD 581.652 billion.
The gold reserves currently amount to USD 81.217 billion, according to RBI data. It fell by a whopping USD 5.121 billion in the latest week. Central banks worldwide are increasingly accumulating safe-haven gold in their foreign exchange reserves kitty, and India is no exception. The share of gold maintained by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) in its foreign exchange reserves has almost doubled since 2021.
In 2023, India added around USD 58 billion to its foreign exchange reserves, contrasting with a cumulative decline of USD 71 billion in 2022. In 2024, the reserves rose by a little over USD 20 billion.
Foreign exchange reserves, or FX reserves, are assets held by a nation's central bank or monetary authority, primarily in reserve currencies such as the US Dollar, with smaller portions in the Euro, Japanese Yen, and Pound Sterling.
The RBI often intervenes by managing liquidity, including selling dollars, to prevent steep Rupee depreciation. The RBI strategically buys dollars when the Rupee is strong and sells when it weakens.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Business Standard
5 hours ago
- Business Standard
RBI to raise gold lending LTV to 85% for loans under Rs 2.5 lakh
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on Friday increased the loan-to-value (LTV) ratio on gold loans up to Rs 2.5 lakh to 85 per cent per borrower, up from the 75 per cent proposed in the draft norms issued in April this year. For gold loans more than Rs 2.5 lakh and up to Rs 5 lakh, the LTV ratio has been set at 80 per cent. For loans more than Rs 5 lakh, the central bank has set an LTV of 75 per cent. The RBI said that the new norms will come into effect from April 1, 2026.
India Gazette
5 hours ago
- India Gazette
India defies global poverty trends amid World Bank's revised estimates
New Delhi [India], June 7 (ANI): While the World Bank's revision to global poverty estimates led to a global increase in the count of extreme poverty by 125 million, India emerged as a statistical outlier in a positive direction, according to the government's factsheet analysis. The World Bank recently raised the International Poverty Line (IPL) from USD 2.15 to USD 3.00 per day (based on 2021 purchasing power parity). The revision was intended to reflect updated costs of living and more accurate consumption data. The global poverty measures produced by the World Bank use purchasing power parities (PPPs) to account for differences in price levels across the world. These PPPs are periodically revised in light of new data on relative living costs. This adjustment was expected to sharply increase the global count of those living in extreme poverty which was visible on poverty figures, estimated at 226 million people. However, India's newly revised poverty data significantly softened the blow, reducing the count by 125 million. These figures offsets more than half the global increase. India's standout performance is largely attributed to improvements in data collection and measurement methods. The country's latest Household Consumption Expenditure Survey (HCES) adopted the Modified Mixed Recall Period (MMRP) method, replacing the outdated Uniform Reference Period. This change provided a more accurate picture of household consumption, capturing actual spending more effectively. As a result, India's poverty rate in 2022-23 stood at just 5.25 per cent under the new USD 3.00 poverty line, and 2.35 per cent under the older USD 2.15 line -- a dramatic decline from earlier decades. The data also showed rising household spending: average monthly per capita expenditure rose to Rs 4,122 in rural areas and Rs 6,996 in urban areas, excluding the value of items received free through social welfare programs. Additionally, consumption inequality fell, with the Gini coefficient declining in both rural and urban regions. The government's factsheet detail added that India's example shows how methodological integrity, better data, and sustained policy efforts can work together to deliver real developmental outcomes. (ANI)
United News of India
6 hours ago
- United News of India
Bangladesh ex-PM Hasina slams CA Yunus for destroying country's economy
Dhaka, June 7 (UNI) Former Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has slammed Chief Advisor Mohammed Yunus for his speech announcing April 2026 for the national polls, and asserted that he has destroyed the country's economy, caused massive social instability, and is destroying its very history and identity. Rejecting Yunus's claims that the country's economy was in shambles before he came to power in August last year, Hasina said: 'I saw his speech today. Yunus was trying to make excuses for his misdeeds.' 'His remarks do not match the reality. He claimed that the economy was shattered when he came to power. How is it possible? Rather, our economy was in the strongest position,' she added, reports Daily Republic. Highlighting the success of her tenure, and her efforts in uplifting the country's economy, she said 'He has destroyed the economy so much that he could not surpass my last budget worth Tk7,97,000 crore (USD 7.954 billion); rather, he reduced it. The budget does not go downwards. 'When I took office in 2009, Bangladesh's budget was only Tk68,000 crore (USD 5.576 billion), and it rose to Tk7,97,000 crore. In South Asia, Bangladesh's economy became the second, ninth in Asia, and 35th in the world,' the former PM added. She further stated that Bangladesh's GDP was growing by 8% prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, and despite the pandemic, the global crash of stocks, and the further deterioration caused by the Russia-Ukraine war, she was able to keep the economic growth at 6.7%. 'The Awami League increased per capita income to $2,794 from $445 in 2009. In 2023, Bangladesh's GDP rose to 7.4%. Due to extensive pro-people programmes, poverty was reduced to 18% and extreme poverty to 5%.' Recalling the UN General Assembly verdict about Bangladesh's economic status, she said that under her Awami League government, the country was finally recognised as a developing nation, and one of the fastest growing economies in the world. Bashing the CA for disrupting the country's economic growth, she said 'He has destroyed the country's economy', adding that the prices of essentials goods is sky high, and unemployment rate has drastically gone up. 'During the Awami League tenure, a day labourer or rickshaw-puller could earn enough to arrange three meals for the family. Now they cannot earn money for one meal. 'We reduced the poverty rate. He has increased it.' Calling the CA a 'very smart liar', she said that inflation in the country had drastically gone up since Yunus took office, increasing up to 14% as opposed to its earlier rate of 8-9%. Condemning his government's use of mob violence as a tool for political gains, and calling his rule a 'mobocracy', she called him 'Mob King Yunus', rubbishing his claims that all her development projects in the country as PM were named after Sheikh Mujibur Rahman because he was her father. Stating that it was a way of showing respect and acknowledging his contributions, Hasina said 'Yunus claims that I named everything after my relatives, parents, and siblings. It is not true. The Father of the Nation brought us independence. You cannot wipe out the name of Bangabandhu no matter how hard you try. 'History takes its own course. Today, you are trying to wipe out the memory of Bangabandhu and remove his name from everywhere. Where do you stand? The name Bangladesh was given by Bangabandhu.' UNI ANV RN
