India’s US Treasury holdings rose to $219.71 billion in August

India’s US Treasury holdings rose from $202.62 billion in July to $219.71 billion in August 2026, according to data from the US Department of the Treasury. The increase followed a rise in dollar inflows linked to the RBI’s swap programme, with most of the holdings invested in longer-term securities.

India’s holdings rose from $181.01 billion in April to $219.71 billion in August

India’s Treasury holdings rose to $181.01 billion in April. They increased to $181.29 billion in May but then shot up to $186.39 billion in June, according to the US Department of the Treasury. The holdings then went up to $202.62 billion in July, before hitting the current figure in August, a gain of $17.10 billion from July.

The August holding was above the $219.38 billion recorded a year earlier. US Department of the Treasury data showed that the increase reversed the decline in India’s holdings through much of 2025.

RBI net dollar purchases rose to $43.26 billion in August

The RBI’s August bulletin recorded net dollar purchases of $43.26 billion in August, compared with $18.65 billion in July. The bulletin showed that the central bank bought $74.47 billion in the spot market and sold $31.21 billion during August.

India’s foreign exchange reserves reached $740.80 billion in the week ended August 28, the RBI said. Foreign currency assets, the largest component of those reserves, rose to $600.67 billion.

The RBI’s swap facilities mobilised $136.38 billion by August 31

To attract dollars into the country, the Reserve Bank of India created a special USD-INR swap facility on June 8 to encourage FCNR(B) deposits, overseas foreign currency borrowings and external commercial borrowings. By August 31, total proceeds of $136.38bn had been mobilized through these special facilities. Proceeds from FCNR(B) deposits alone aggregated $127.23bn.

FCNR(B) deposits generally have three- to five-year tenures. Gaura Sengupta, chief economist at IDFC First Bank, said the FCNR(B) funds needed to be invested.

Long-term securities accounted for 90.4% of August holdings

Long-term US securities accounted for $198.52 billion, or 90.4%, of India’s total holdings in August, according to the US Department of the Treasury. Short-term securities accounted for $21.19 billion.

The Fund purchased $16.11 billion of long-term and $1.49 billion of short-term securities. The benchmark 10-year US Treasury yield for August averaged 4.68%, up from 4.6% in July and 4.47% in June, according to Federal Reserve Board data.