New Delhi, May 2 -- India's foreign exchange reserves rose for the eighth week in a row, climbing by $1.98 billion to reach $688.13 billion for the week ended April 25, according to the Reserve Bank of India.

The previous week had seen a sharper rise of $8.31 billion, pushing the total to $686.15 billion.

Despite the steady buildup, the reserves are still shy of their all-time peak of $704.89 billion recorded at the end of September last year.

In contrast, gold holdings fell by $207 million during the week to $84.37 billion. India's Special Drawing Rights (SDRs) with the International Monetary Fund rose slightly by $21 million to $18.59 billion, and its reserve position in the IMF inched up by $2 million to $4.51 billion.

There were n...