Last Updated on January 25, 2026 2:42 pm by INDIAN AWAAZ
AMN / BIZ DESK
India’s foreign exchange reserves registered a sharp jump of USD 14.167 billion in the week ended January 16, rising to USD 701.360 billion, according to the Reserve Bank of India’s (RBI) latest Weekly Statistical Supplement. The increase comes after a marginal rise in the previous week and reinforces the recent upward trend in the country’s forex holdings.
With this surge, India’s reserves are now hovering close to their all-time high of USD 704.89 billion, recorded in September 2024, underlining the strength of the country’s external sector.
For the reported week, foreign currency assets (FCA), which form the largest component of the reserves, rose by USD 9.652 billion to USD 560.518 billion. Gold reserves also saw a significant increase, climbing USD 4.623 billion to USD 117.454 billion, RBI data showed.
The rise in gold reserves comes amid a strong upward trend in global gold prices in recent months, driven by heightened geopolitical and economic uncertainties and sustained investor demand for safe-haven assets.
Following its monetary policy review in early December, the RBI said India’s foreign exchange reserves were adequate to cover more than 11 months of merchandise imports, reflecting a comfortable external buffer.
Overall, the central bank has maintained that India’s external sector remains resilient and that the country is well-positioned to meet its external financing requirements.
So far in 2025, India’s forex reserves have expanded by around USD 56 billion. In comparison, reserves increased by just over USD 20 billion in 2024. In 2023, the country added nearly USD 58 billion, reversing a sharp cumulative decline of about USD 71 billion recorded in 2022.
Foreign exchange reserves are assets held by a country’s central bank, mainly in reserve currencies such as the US dollar, with smaller shares in the euro, Japanese yen and pound sterling.
The RBI actively intervenes in the foreign exchange market to manage liquidity and curb excessive volatility in the rupee. It typically buys dollars when the domestic currency is strong and sells them during periods of weakness to prevent sharp depreciation.