India’s forex reserves rise to $693.3 billion on gold gains

India’s foreign exchange reserves rose by $4.368 billion to reach $693.318 billion in the week ending December 19, RBI said. The increase was mainly due to a strong rise in gold reserves, which jumped $2.623 billion to $110.365 billion during the week. After its monetary policy review, RBI said India’s forex reserves can cover over 11 months of merchandise imports.