India's forex reserves increased by USD 1.727 billion to USD 573.727 billion in the week ended January 20, the Reserve Bank of India said on Friday.

This is the second consecutive week of a rise in the kitty after the USD 10.417 billion jump to USD 572 billion during the preceding week.

In October 2021, the country's forex kitty had reached an all-time high of USD 645 billion. The reserves have been declining as the central bank deploys the kitty to defend the rupee amid pressures caused majorly by global developments.

In October 2022, the reserves had swelled by USD 14.721 billion during a week.

During the reporting week, the foreign currency assets, a major component of the reserves, increased by USD 839 million to USD 506.358 billion, according to the Weekly Statistical Supplement released by the RBI on Friday.

Expressed in dollar terms, the foreign currency assets include the effect of appreciation or depreciation of non-US units like the euro, pound and yen held in the foreign exchange reserves.

The gold reserves continued to rise, jumping by USD 821 million to USD 43.712 billion, the RBI said.

The Special Drawing Rights (SDRs) were up by USD 68 million to USD 18.432 billion, the apex bank said.

The country's reserve position with the IMF was down by USD 1 million to USD 5.226 billion in the reporting week, the apex bank data showed.

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