India's forex kitty swells $4.4 bn to $295.7 bn

upee ends weak, bond yields rise

Foreign exchange reserves rose in the week ending December 6 by $4.41 billion to $295.71 billion, shows Reserve Bank of India (RBI) data released Friday. This is close to the level last seen in April 26 at $296.37 billion.

Foreign currency assets, a key component of reserves rose by $ 5.02 billion to $268.76 billion. However, gold reserves for the week dropped by $ 624.2 million to $ 20.60 billion.

For the week under review, the Special Drawing Rights (SDRs) rose by $8.9 million to $4.44 billion, while India's reserve position with the International Monetary Fund was up $3.8 million to $ 1.91 billion.

Meanwhile, the rupee weakened and breached the Rs 62 mark per dollar on Friday due to rise in Consumer Price Index (CPI) inflation for November raising concerns of a further repo rate hike. Rate hike concerns also resulted in government bond yields rising.

The rupee ended at Rs 62.13 compared with previous close of Rs 61.83 per dollar. The rupee had opened at Rs 62.11 and during intra-day trades touched a low of Rs 62.28 per dollar. The yield on the 10-year benchmark government bond ended at 8.91% compared with previous close of 8.85%.