Mumbai, Aug. 18 -- India's forex reserves surged by $4.74 billion to $693.62 billion for the week ending August 8, data by the Reserve Bank of India showed on Friday. The country's foreign exchange reserves stood at $688.87 billion as of August 1, down by $9.32 billion from the previous week.

For the week ending on August 8, foreign currency assets, a major component of the reserves, increased $2.37 billion to $583.98 billion.

Gold reserves were up by $2.16 billion to stand at $86.16 billion during the week, the RBI said. The special drawing rights (SDR) were up $169 million to $18.74 billion, the central bank said.

As per the data, India's reserve position with the IMF was up by $45 million at $4.73 billion in the reporting week.

Pub...