India's forex kitty rose by USD 12.798 billion to USD 572.801 billion in the week ended March 17, the Reserve Bank said on Friday.

In the previous reporting week, the reserves had dropped by USD 2.39 billion to a three-month low of USD 560.003 billion.

It can be noted that 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.

For the week ended March 17, the foreign currency assets, a major component of the reserves, increased by USD 10.485 billion to USD 505.348 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.

Gold reserves jumped by USD 2.187 billion to USD 44.109 billion, the RBI said.

The Special Drawing Rights (SDRs) were up by USD 98 million to USD 18.219 billion, the apex bank said.

The country's reserve position with the IMF was also up by USD 29 million to USD 5.125 billion in the reporting week, the apex bank showed.

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