May 18, 2003	Sunday	Rabi-ul-Awwal 15, 1424

MUMBAI, May 17: Healthy trade and investment inflows and the euro’s strength against the US dollar helped India’s foreign exchange reserves rise to a fresh peak in the week to May 9, analysts said on Saturday.

Data released by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on Saturday showed the reserves added on $961 million during the week to rise to $78.559 billion.

Currency assets, which reflect the appreciation in the euro and other major currencies against the dollar besides the additional inflows, were up $959 million.

It was a week when the euro appreciated strongly and it is mainly the effect of the revaluation (of the RBI’s assets) along with the continuing strong inflows that boosted reserves, said M.R. Madhavan, head of research at Bank of America.

India expresses its reserves in dollar terms, though it holds assets in euros, pounds and yen. The RBI does not share details on the break-up of its currency holdings.

The rupee, which is currently undervalued by more than two per cent on a trade-weighted basis according to analysts, has gained 1.8pc against the dollar since the start of 2003.—Reuters