India's foreign exchange reserves soared by USD 11.02 billion to reach USD 561.162 billion for the week ended December 2, Reserve Bank data showed on Friday.

This is the fourth consecutive week of rise in the reserves. In the previous reporting week, the overall reserves had grown by USD 2.9 billion to USD 550.14 billion. For the week ended November 11, the forex kitty had jumped by USD 14.72 billion in its second fastest weekly acceleration ever.

In October 2021, the country's foreign exchange 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.

Foreign currency assets (FCA), a major component of the overall reserves, increased by USD 9.694 billion to USD 496.984 billion during the week to December 2, 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 increased by USD 1.086 billion to USD 41.025 billion.

The Special Drawing Rights (SDRs) were down by USD 164 million to USD 18.04 billion, the apex bank said.

The country's reserve position with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) was also down by USD 75 million to USD 5.108 billion in the reporting week, the data showed.