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India’s forex reserves rose to $702.3 billion, driven by gold at $108.5 billion, while foreign currency assets fell, RBI reported.
RBI’s gold reserve doubled in the past 10 years.
India’s foreign exchange reserves climbed by $4.5 billion to reach $702.3 billion for the week ending October 17, largely driven by a significant increase in gold holdings, according to data released by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on Friday.
Gold reserves, a part of India’s forex reserves, jumped by $6.2 billion to surpass $108.5 billion for the first time. This rise was fueled by higher global gold prices and proactive purchases by the central bank.
In contrast, foreign currency assets, which make up the bulk of the reserves, fell by $1.7 billion to $570.4 billion during the week, affected by volatility in currencies like the euro, pound, and yen. Meanwhile, India’s reserve position with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) slipped slightly by $30 million to $4.62 billion.
Over the last ten years, the share of gold in India’s foreign exchange reserves has nearly doubled—from under 7 per cent to nearly 15 per cent.
Special Drawing Rights (SDRs) from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) were at $18.7 billion, while India’s reserve position in the IMF stood at $4.6 billion.
Over the year, India’s total reserves have increased by $14.0 billion from the end of March 2025, reflecting strong capital inflows and robust forex management by the central bank. However, foreign currency assets saw a modest decline of $27.8 billion from March levels, partly offset by gains in gold and SDRs.
The RBI’s weekly bulletin also reported loans and advances to state governments at ₹30,095 crore as of October 17, up from ₹16,116 crore the previous week, highlighting continued support to state-level fiscal operations.
Prices of the yellow metal have surged over 60% this year. Gold’s rally has been fuelled by strong safe-haven demand, aggressive central bank purchases, a weakening rupee, and expectations of further rate cuts by the US Federal Reserve.
Other metal silver and platinum also followed the upward trajectory. Unlike from gold, silver has an industrial use with experts indicating supply-demand deficit and positive gold-to-silver ratio.
Varun Yadav is a Sub Editor at News18 Business Digital. He writes articles on markets, personal finance, technology, and more. He completed his post-graduation diploma in English Journalism from the Indian Inst… Read More
October 25, 2025, 17:03 IST
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