India’s Gold Reserves Top $100 Billion for the First Time as Global Bullion Prices Surge

India’s gold reserves surged past the $100 billion mark for the first time in history after a sharp global rally in bullion prices, the Reserve Bank of India’s weekly foreign exchange data showed.

Gold holdings rose by about $3.595 billion in the week to October 10, taking the value of the RBI’s bullion stockpile to $102.365 billion, even as the country’s total foreign-exchange reserves fell to $697.784 billion.

The jump reflects valuation gains from an extraordinary run in global gold: spot gold recently surged past $4,300 an ounce, its biggest weekly advance in years, driven by heightened geopolitical risks, safe-haven demand and changing expectations for US interest rates. Those price moves pushed the rupee-valued worth of India’s existing gold holdings sharply higher.

The milestone comes despite a marked slowdown in RBI’s outright gold purchases this year. Data from market trackers show the central bank bought gold in only four of the first nine months of 2025, totalling about 4 tonnes between January and September, versus roughly 50 tonnes in the same period a year earlier, indicating that valuation gains rather than fresh buying largely explain the record valuation.

Gold’s Rising Share

As a result, the share of gold in India’s total reserves climbed to about 14.7%, the highest proportion since the late 1990s, reflecting a near-decade trend in which gold’s weight in the reserve mix has roughly doubled from below 7% a decade ago.

At the same time, foreign currency assets, the largest component of reserves, declined; FCAs fell by roughly $5.6 billion during the week to about $572.103 billion, pressuring the overall forex kitty.

Market Impact

A larger gold share cushions reserve portfolios against currency swings and geopolitical disruption, and many central banks have leaned into bullion as a diversification tool.

For India, the valuation boost improves the headline size of official reserves, but it also underscores exposure to commodity-price swings, gains today could reverse if gold cools. Analysts say the RBI’s measured buying this year suggests it is balancing strategic accumulation with opportunistic valuation changes.