The country's foreign exchange reserves rose by $2.479 billion to $306.844 on the back of a sharp increase in the value of gold reserves and foreign currency assets, according to the Reserve Bank of India's ‘Weekly Statistical Supplement'.
In the previous week ended November 26, the reserves had fallen by a whopping $4.259 billion to $304.365 billion.
The foreign exchange reserves have risen for the first time after four weeks of decline.
Gold rises
A break-up of the forex reserves shows that appreciation in the price of gold resulted in the value of gold reserves surging by $1.145 billion. The foreign currency assets rose by $1.315 billion.
Foreign currency assets expressed in US dollar terms include the effect of appreciation/depreciation of non-US currencies such as euro, sterling and yen held in reserves.
The euro appreciated from $1.332 to $1.3391 against the dollar, during the week under review. It had touched a low of $1.324 during the week.
SDRs rose by $12 million to $4.501 billion. The country's reserve position in the IMF fell by $7 million to $2.610 billion.