Forex rises again

MUMBAI: Foreign currency assets (FCA) of the country increased by US $ 193 million to $ 30,524 million during the week ended May 21, 1999.

The country’s total foreign exchange (forex) reserves stood at $ 33,443 million as against $ 33,250 million on May 14. During the week under review there was no change in gold reserves and special drawing rights (SDRs), according to the weekly statistical supplement released today by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI).

During the fortnight ended May 7, total credit extended by the scheduled commercial banks (SCBs) increased by Rs 758 crore, while investments by SCBs in government securities and other approved instruments grew by Rs 4,626 crore.

Food credit, during the same period, increased by Rs 1,864 crore while non-food credit declined by Rs 1,106 crore. Money supply (M3), during the fortnight, increased by Rs 7,255 crore, an increase of 0.7 per cent, the RBI said.