Mumbai:

Reserve Bank Governor Shaktikanta Das today said India has been building gold reserves as part of its foreign exchange deployment.

“We are building gold reserves as part of our reserve deployment,” Governor Das told reporters at a routine post-policy review press conference.

He did not elaborate on gold purchases but pointed to official data showing an increase in the value of gold reserves.

Official data shows that as of March 22, the value of gold in foreign exchange reserves was US$51.487 billion, an increase of US$6.287 billion from the end of March 2023.

According to recent news reports, the Reserve Bank of India purchased 8.7 tonnes of gold in January alone, the highest level in two years.

According to data from the World Gold Council, central bank gold holdings increased to 812.3 tons at the end of January from 803.58 tons last month. Gold prices have also risen over the past few months.

Earlier in the day, Governor Das announced that as of March 29, total foreign exchange reserves had reached a record high of US$645.6 billion, and the Weekly Statistical Supplement (WSS) will be released on Friday evening to provide detailed data. ).

Governor Das told reporters that the Reserve Bank of India has made a conscious effort over the past four to five years to build foreign exchange reserves to cushion India from any future risk of dollar outflows.

He also said the central bank’s approach to foreign exchange also strengthened the country’s balance sheet.

Governor Das also said that rupee stability is the top priority of the Reserve Bank.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)