Mumbai, Jan 4

 India's foreign exchange (forex) reserves increased by $204.9 million to $295.70 billion for the week ended Dec 28, Reserve Bank of India (RBI) data showed Friday.

The reserves grew after falling for two weeks. The foreign exchange reserves had declined by $12.6 million in the week ended Dec 20 after posting strong gains in the previous five weeks largely due to the special swap window opened by the RBI. 

According to the RBI's weekly statistical supplement, foreign currency assets, the biggest component of the forex reserves, grew by $164.3 million to $268.63 billion. 

The foreign currency assets had dropped by $94.7 million in the previous week. 

According to the RBI, the foreign currency assets, expressed in US dollar terms, include the effect of appreciation or depreciation of non-US currencies held in reserve such as the pound sterling, euro and yen.

The value of special drawing rights (SDRs) increased by $30.3 million to $4.46 billion during the week under review. India's reserve position with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) rose by $10.3 million to $2 billion. 

The value of India's gold reserves remained unchanged at $20.60 billion. 

By:IANS