Overview
- Reserves rose by $4.496 billion in the week ended October 17 to $702.28 billion, driven by a $6.181 billion jump in the value of gold to $108.546 billion as foreign currency assets fell by $1.692 billion.
- RBI has added about 600 kg of bullion this fiscal year—400 kg in the week ended June 27 and 200 kg in the week ended September 26—taking total holdings to over 880 tonnes.
- India’s holdings of US Treasury securities have declined to roughly $219.7 billion, a seven‑month low, down from $227.4 billion a month earlier and $238.8 billion a year ago.
- Gold now accounts for 13.6% of forex reserves as of September 26, up from 9.3% a year earlier, with the valuation first crossing $100 billion on October 10 before rising further the following week.
- Analysts describe the bullion build-up as diversification in response to uncertainty over the US economy, tariffs, and interest‑rate outlook, aligning with continued central‑bank gold buying globally, including a net 15‑tonne addition in August.