India’s foreign exchange reserves hit record $728.49 billion, RBI data shows
Mumbai — India’s foreign exchange reserves rose to a record $728.49 billion in the week ending February 27, according to data released Friday by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI).
The country’s reserves increased by $4.885 billion during the week, surpassing the previous record of $725.73 billion reached in mid-February.
Foreign currency assets, the largest component of the reserves, stood at $573.13 billion. In dollar terms, these assets reflect the impact of fluctuations in other currencies such as the euro, pound and yen that are part of the reserves.
Gold holdings also rose sharply, increasing by more than $4.14 billion to reach $131.63 billion for the week.
Central banks worldwide have been increasing gold purchases as a safe-haven asset amid geopolitical uncertainty, and the share of gold in India’s foreign exchange reserves has nearly doubled since 2021.
According to a report by Morgan Stanley, the RBI has added roughly 75 tonnes of gold to its reserves since 2024, bringing total holdings to about 880 tonnes. Gold now accounts for roughly 14 percent of India’s total foreign exchange reserves.
The Special Drawing Rights (SDR) component of the reserves rose slightly to $18.87 billion, up about $26 million from the previous week.
Higher foreign exchange reserves provide the RBI with greater flexibility to stabilize the rupee against the U.S. dollar. Strong reserves allow the central bank to intervene in currency markets by supplying dollars to prevent excessive volatility or sharp declines in the rupee.
Separately, RBI data earlier this week showed India’s current account deficit stood at $13.2 billion, or 1.3 percent of gross domestic product, in the third quarter of the 2025–26 financial year covering October through December.
The deficit was $11.3 billion, or 1.1 percent of GDP, during the same quarter a year earlier.
India’s merchandise trade deficit widened to $93.6 billion in the third quarter from $79.3 billion in the same period last year. However, stronger services exports and higher remittances from Indians working abroad helped offset part of the increase.
Net services receipts rose to $57.5 billion during the quarter, up from $51.2 billion a year earlier, driven by growth in sectors such as computer services and other business services.
Remittances from overseas Indians also increased, reaching $36.9 billion compared with $35.1 billion in the same quarter last year. (Source: IANS)
