India, May 16 -- India's forex reserves jumped by $6.295 billion to $696.988 billion during the week ended May 8, the Reserve Bank said on Friday.

The overall reserves had dropped by $7.794 billion to $690.693 billion in the previous reporting week.

The forex kitty had expanded to an all-time high of $728.494 billion during the week ended February 27 this year, before the onset of the West Asia crisis, which led to several weeks of drop, as the rupee came under pressure and the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) had to intervene in the forex market through dollar sales.

For the week ended May 8, foreign currency assets, a major component of the reserves, increased by $562 million to $552.387 billion, the central bank's data showed.

Expressed...