85 breached
The Indian rupee has breached the significant psychological barrier of 85 against the US dollar, marking an all-time low amid a confluence of domestic and global pressures.
Gold reserves held domestically in India surged 40 per cent in the last 5 years, data from the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) said.
For the same period, between March 2019 and March 2024, the total gold reserves also saw an uptick of 34 per cent.
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As of the end of March 2024, RBI held a total of 822 metric tonnes of gold, with 408 metric tonnes held within the country.
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The total gold reserve stood at 612 metric tonnes at the end of March 2019, including 292 metric tonnes held domestically, the data showed.
The share of gold in total foreign exchange reserves increased from 7.37 per cent as at the end of September 2023 to 8.15 per cent as at the end of March 2024.
India’s foreign exchange reserves cover of imports, on balance of payments basis, increased to 11 months as of the end of March 2024 from 10.2 months at the end of September 2023. At the end of March 2023, the import cover stood at 9.3 months.
By the end of March 2024, foreign exchange reserves reached USD 641 billion, up from USD 578 billion at the end of March 2023.
The proportion of short-term debt to reserves declined from 22 per cent in September 2023 to 20.3per cent by December 2023.
The ratio of volatile capital flows — comprising cumulative portfolio inflows and outstanding short-term debt — to reserves decreased from 73 per cent in September 2023 to 70.4 per cent by December 2023.
Excluding valuation effects, foreign exchange reserves increased by USD 32.9 billion during April to December 2023 compared to a decrease of USD 14.7 billion during April to December 2022.
Foreign exchange reserves in nominal terms increased by USD 44 billion during April to December 2023 as against a decrease of USD 44.6 billion in the corresponding period of the preceding year.
In a year between December 2022 and December 2023, external assets grew by USD 97.9 billion, while external liabilities expanded by USD 95.1 billion.
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