Mumbai, May 18 -- India's forex reserves rose by USD 6.295 billion to USD 696.988 billion during the week ended May 8, the Reserve Bank said on Friday. The overall reserves had dropped by USD 7.794 billion to USD 690.693 billion in the previous reporting week. The forex kitty had hit an all-time high of USD 728.494 billion during the week ended February 27 this year, before the onset of the West Asia crisis. For the week ended May 8, foreign currency assets, a major component of the reserves, increased by USD 562 million to USD 552.387 billion. Value of gold reserves soared by USD 5.637 billion to USD 120.853 billion during the week, the RBI said. The Special Drawing Rights (SDRs) also rose by USD 84 million to USD 18.873 billion.

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