India's Forex Reserves Soar To Record High Of $692.3 Billion

India's foreign exchange reserves swelled to a record high of $692.3 billion for the week ended Sept. 20, the Reserve Bank of India's data showed on Friday. This is the fifth consecutive time that the forex reserves have hit a record high.

The country's forex kitty rose $2.84 billion over the previous reporting week.

Foreign investors have pumped in Rs 2.56 lakh crore into the country's debt and equity markets so far this year, according to data from the National Securities Depository Ltd.

The month of September has seen Rs 91,702 crore make its way into Indian bonds and equities.

For the week ended Sept. 13, foreign currency assets—a major component of the reserves—rose $2.06 billion to $605.69 billion, according to the data.

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

Gold reserves increased $726 million to $63.6 billion during the week.

India remains the fourth-highest foreign exchange reserve holder in the world. The reserves are equivalent to around 11 months of imports projected for the current financial year and about 99% of total external debt outstanding at the end of March, the central bank said in its July bulletin.