Mumbai: India’s foreign-exchange reserves climbed $651 million to $287.4 billion in the week ended December 4, helped by an increase in gold reserves, the central bank said.
The nation’s gold reserves rose $682 million to $18.2 billion, the Mumbai-based Reserve Bank of India said in an e-mailed statement on Friday. Foreign-currency assets fell $22 million to $262.4 billion. India’s special drawing rights with the International Monetary Fund fell $7 million to $53 billion, while its reserves with the IMF fell $2 million to $14.6 billion.
The change in foreign-currency assets is partly because of changes in the value of the dollar against the euro, yen and other currencies during the period, the central bank said.
Total reserves jumped $41.5 billion in the past year, the bank said. The assets comprise overseas currencies, gold and special drawing rights with the IMF.
India’s rupee pared earlier gains after a government report showed industrial production increased less than economists estimated in October.
The rupee traded at 46.55 per dollar on Friday compared with the day’s high of 46.49. The yield on the 6.9 % note due July 2019 rose four basis points to 7.58 %, its highest closing level since the bond began trading, according to the central bank’s trading system. The price fell 0.25, or 25 paise per Rs 100 face amount, to 95.45. A basis point is 0.01 percentage point.
India’s 10-year bonds declined for the third straight week on speculation the fastest increase in food prices in 11 years will prompt the central bank to raise interest rates. Yields rose to near the highest level in more than a year after a government report showed on Thursday wholesale food prices soared 19.05% in the week ended November 28 from a year earlier.
Bonds also fell as a separate report showed today that industrial production accelerated. “Although the industrial output growth was a little less than expected, when you look at it in conjunction with yesterday’s inflation figure, it seems a rate increase is on the cards,” said Sanjay Arya, treasurer at state-owned Bank of Maharashtra in Mumbai.
Source : Financial Express