The forex reserves continued to rise for the third consecutive week, adding USD 4.471 billion more in the week ending December 22, taking the total to USD 620.441 billion, according to the weekly data released by the Reserve Bank on Friday.

In the previous reporting week, the kitty had swollen by USD 9.112 billion to USD 615.971 billion, making the quantum of increase one of the highest in a week. In the week before, the overall reserves had risen by USD 2.816 billion to USD 606.859 billion.

In October 2021, the forex kitty had reached an all-time high of USD 645 billion. At over USD 620 billion, the reserves are just USD 25 billion off the peak. The reserves took a hit as the central bank deployed the kitty to defend the rupee amid pressures caused majorly by global developments since last year.

This takes the year-to-date addition of forex reserves to USD 57.634 billion, according to the central bank data.

For the week ended December 22, the foreign currency assets, which are the single largest component of the reserves, increased by USD 4.898 billion to USD 549.747 billion, according to the Reserve Bank data.

In the year so far, the monetary authority has added USD 51.257 billion to the foreign currency assets.

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.

However, gold reserves declined by USD 107 million to USD 47.474 billion during the reporting week while the special drawing rights (SDRs) were almost flat, adding just USD 4 million to USD 18.327 billion, the apex bank said.

The country's reserve position with the IMF also declined by USD 129 million to USD 4.894 billion in the reporting week, the data showed.

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