Forex reserves watch: India’s kitty rises to $687.19 billion; gold holdings jump

India’s foreign exchange reserves rose by $392 million to $687.19 billion in the week ended January 9, data released by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) showed on Friday, PTI reported.The increase comes after a sharp decline in the previous reporting week, when the overall reserves had fallen by $9.809 billion to $686.80 billion.According to the RBI, foreign currency assets (FCAs) — the largest component of the reserves — declined by $1.124 billion to $550.866 billion during the week.The central bank clarified that FCAs, when expressed in dollar terms, include the impact of appreciation or depreciation of non-US currencies such as the euro, pound sterling and Japanese yen held in the reserves.Gold reserves, however, provided strong support to the overall kitty, rising by $1.568 billion to $112.83 billion during the reporting period.Special Drawing Rights (SDRs) with the International Monetary Fund declined by $39 million to $18.739 billion, the RBI data showed.India’s reserve position with the IMF also slipped marginally, falling by $13 million to $4.758 billion in the week under review.