• Investment World
• eWorld
• Catalyst
• Mentor
• Life
• Canvas
• Praxis
• Urban Pulse
• Brand Quest

Our Bureau

MUMBAI, Feb. 15

DOLLAR inflows continue unabated pushing the country's forex reserves up by a hefty $1.084 billion to touch $74.667 billion for the week ended February 7, 2003.

In the previous week, the accretion to the reserves had seen significantly lower at $378 million to cap the reserves at $73.583 billion for the week ended January 31, 2003.

With war fears being a cause for anxiety, the dollar inflows into the local currency market rose substantially in the form of both export receivables coming in and heavy remittances flooding in from West Asia.

"There have been `robust' export receivables in dollars coming into the market. Exporters have been rushing to bring in their earnings on account of mounting tensions in the Middle East,'' said a forex dealer in a public-sector bank.

Worried over the uncertainties in the region, dollar remittances from non-resident Indians in the Gulf to their kith and kin have also been heavy, said forex dealers.

With war in the air and US economy showing no signs of a revival, all major international currencies like the euro, the sterling pound and the Japanese yen have staged further appreciation against the greenback. This has also led to the burgeoning reserves due to the appreciation in the value of the basket of currencies held by the apex bank.

With financial markets behaving in anticipation to the UN chief weapons inspector's report submission on Friday, the local forex markets experienced volatile activity.

In the week gone by, the rupee dipped in its value against the US dollar by over 16 paise to close the week at 47.8550/8650.

The depreciation in the Indian currency occurred due to increased demand for the greenback by oil companies and several corporates with uncertain geo-political situations prevailing during the week. "Banks were also seen scurrying for dollars ahead of the mid-week holiday on account of Eid,'' said a forex dealer in a private bank.

As an unusual trend, state run banks were seen selling dollars in small amounts at the behest of the RBI in an attempt to cap the depreciation in the Indian currency, however it was quite ineffective.

According to the RBI's Weekly Statistical Supplement, the foreign currency assets increased by $1.084 billion to touch $70.972 billion for the week ended February 7, 2003. Meanwhile the special drawing rights were at $7 million.

Article E-Mail :: Comment :: Syndication

Stories in this Section
Forex kitty gains over $1 b in one week

Copyright © 2003, The Hindu Business Line. Republication or redissemination of the contents of this screen are expressly prohibited without the written consent of The Hindu Business Line