NEW DELHI, Oct 28: India’s forex reserves have dropped by USD 3.847 billion to USD 524.52 billion for the week ended October 21, the lowest since July 2020, the RBI said on Friday.
The overall reserves had dropped by USD 4.50 billion to USD 528.37 billion in the previous reporting week, and have been declining for many months now.
In October 2021, the country’s forex kitty had reached an all-time high of USD 645 billion. The reserves have been declining as the central bank deploys the kitty to defend the rupee amid pressures caused majorly by global developments.
Foreign currency assets (FCA), a major component of the overall reserves, saw a drop of USD 3.593 billion to USD 465.075 billion during the week to October 21, according to the Weekly Statistical Supplement released by the RBI on Friday.
Expressed in dollar terms, the foreign currency assets include the effect of appreciation or depreciation of non-US units like the euro, pound and yen held in the foreign exchange reserves.
Gold reserves saw a decline of USD 247 million in value to USD 37.206 billion, it said. The Special Drawing Rights (SDRs) were up by USD 7 million to USD 17.44 billion, the top bank said. The country’s reserve position with the IMF was down by USD 14 million to USD 4.799 billion in the reporting week, the central bank data showed.
(Manas Dasgupta)