FPIs divest Indian equities worth over Rs 20,000 crore in four trading sessions
The development came amid escalating tensions in the Middle East and a substantial surge in the US bond yields.
The foreign exchange reserves of India spiked by USD 2.951 billion to USD 645.583 billion for the week ended March 29, the Reserve Bank of India said on Friday.
Notably, this is the sixth consecutive week of a jump in overall reserves, as the kitty had increased $140 million to $642.631 billion in the previous reporting week.
It was in September 2021 that India’s forex kitty reached an all-time high of $642.453 billion. It took a hit as the RBI deployed the kitty to defend the rupee amid pressures caused majorly by global developments since last year.
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As per the RBI data, for the week ended March 29, the foreign currency assets, a major component of the reserves, increased $2.354 billion to $570.618 billion.
Further, the data showed that the gold reserves increased $673 million to $52.16 billion during the week. The Special Drawing Rights (SDRs) were down $73 million to $18.145 billion.
India’s reserve position with the IMF was also down $2 million to $4.66 billion in the reporting week, RBI data showed.
The foreign currency assets are expressed in dollar terms, and include the effect of appreciation or depreciation of non-US units like the euro, pound, and yen held in the foreign exchange reserves.
On the external financing side, India’s foreign portfolio investment (FPI) flows saw a significant turnaround in 2023-24. Net FPI inflows stood at $ 41.6 billion during 2023-24, as against net outflows in the preceding two years (US$ 14.1 billion in 2021-22 and US$ 4.8 billion in 2022-23).
This is the second highest level of FPI inflow after 2014-15.
Net foreign direct investment (FDI) moderated to US$ 14.2 billion in April-January 2023-24 from US$ 25.0 billion a year ago while the External commercial borrowings (ECBs) and non-resident deposits recorded higher net inflows compared to the previous year.
The amount of ECB agreements also grew markedly during 2023-24 (up to February 2024)
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