Foreign Exchange Reserves Cross $440 Billion Mark

Continuing its northward surge, India's foreign exchange kitty has swelled by $1.039 billion to a new life-time high of $440.751 billion for the week ended October 18, the Reserve Bank said on Friday.

The forex reserves had risen by $1.879 billion to a new record high of $439.712 billion in the previous reporting week.

For the week under review, the foreign currency assets, which are the biggest part of the reserves, increased by $931 million to $408.881 billion, the RBI said.

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

The value of the gold reserves increased by $82 million to $26.861 billion for the week, the RBI said.

The special drawing rights with the International Monetary Fund rose $9 million to $1.440 billion during the week. The country's reserve position with the Fund also increased by $17 million to $3.640 billion, the data showed.