India Forex Reserves: Relief news is emerging for India on the front of foreign exchange reserves. Talking about the figures, in the week ending January 30, the country’s forex reserves have increased by $ 14.36 billion to reach an all-time high of $ 723.77 billion.

In the previous week also, an increase of 8.05 billion dollars was seen in the country’s foreign reserves. After which it reached 709.41 billion dollars. This information has been given by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI). Whereas, earlier in September 2024, the foreign exchange reserves had reached the level of $ 704.89 billion.

Strong increase in gold reserves

According to the latest data, a good increase has been recorded in the country’s gold reserve. According to RBI, gold reserves have increased by $ 14.59 billion to reach $ 137.68 billion. Apart from this, an increase has also been seen in Special Drawing Rights i.e. SDR. It has increased by $216 million to reach the figure of $18.95 billion.

According to the data released by the Reserve Bank of India, in the week ending January 30, foreign currency assets, considered an important part of the foreign exchange reserves, declined by $ 493 million to $ 562.39 billion. Apart from the dollar, these assets also include the effect of fluctuations in the value of other foreign currencies like Euro, Pound and Yen.

Rupee closed weak

The impact of the international situation on Friday was also seen on the Indian rupee. The rupee remained under pressure against the dollar due to uncertainty over talks between America and Iran and rising crude oil prices. At the end of trading it fell by 31 paise and closed at Rs 90.65 per dollar.

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RBI Gold Reserve Data: This time a big change has been seen in the gold strategy of the Central Bank of India. There has been a decrease in the purchase of gold by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI). The new report of the World Gold Council shows that the purchase of gold in 2025 was very limited as compared to the last several years.

RBI has purchased about 4.02 tonnes of gold in the year 2025. Which shows a decrease of 94 percent compared to last year. Let us understand this matter from figures….

What do the figures say?

There has been a decline in gold purchases in 2025, but the total gold reserves with the RBI are continuously reaching new highs. According to recent data, the central bank now has more than 880 tonnes of gold. An increase has been registered in comparison to last year. For this reason, the importance of gold in the country’s foreign exchange reserves has increased more than before.

Due to the tremendous rise in gold prices as well as the purchases made in the year 2024, the share of gold in the forex exchange reserves has increased rapidly. Within a year, this figure has jumped from 10 percent to about 16 percent.

Old RBI data shows that in March 2021 this share was 5.87 percent. That means the share of gold assets has almost tripled in five years.

Reserve Bank also keeps gold abroad

All the gold of the Reserve Bank is not kept in the country. According to the official report, a large part of the total gold present till March 2025 is safe in India, while several hundred tonnes of gold is kept in safe custody abroad with institutions like Bank of England and Bank for International Settlements (BIS).

Central banks hold more gold than US treasury bonds

Talking about official data, the gold reserves held by central banks till December 2025 is 32,140 tonnes. According to the World Gold Council, central banks bought 1,082 tonnes of gold in 2022. In 2023 this figure was 1,037 tonnes. In the year 2024, the highest recorded purchase till date was 1,180 tonnes. Even in the year 2025, purchases by central banks are expected to cross the level of 1,000 tonnes.

The share of gold in foreign exchange reserves is also continuously increasing. At present, the share of gold in the forex reserves of central banks has reached 20 percent. Which is second after 46 percent share of dollar.

The share of gold is more than the 16 percent share of Euro. The special thing is that this is the first time since 1996 that the amount of gold held by central banks has become more than that of US treasury bonds.

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