New Delhi, Oct 31 (KNN) India’s foreign exchange reserves declined by USD 1.269 billion to USD 719.748 billion in the week ended October 23, according to data released by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on Friday.
The decline followed a sharper fall of USD 5.011 billion in the previous reporting week ended October 16, when reserves stood at USD 721.016 billion.
India’s forex reserves had reached a record high of USD 785.706 billion in the week ended September 4, supported by substantial foreign currency inflows through a special concessional swap arrangement for deposits from the Indian diaspora, under which banks raised nearly USD 133 billion. Reserves have declined since then.
Gold Reserves Decline, Foreign Currency Assets Rise
According to the RBI’s Weekly Statistical Supplement released on October 30, foreign currency assets, the largest component of reserves, increased by USD 1.358 billion to USD 593.205 billion during the week ended October 23.
The dollar value of these assets also reflects movements in the value of other currencies, including the euro, pound and yen, held in the reserves.
In contrast, the value of gold reserves declined by USD 2.65 billion to USD 103.15 billion. Special Drawing Rights (SDRs) increased by USD 27 million to USD 18.605 billion, while India’s reserve position with the International Monetary Fund fell by USD 4 million to USD 4.787 billion.
Despite the weekly decline, forex reserves remained USD 28.64 billion higher than their level at the end of March 2026.
Bank Credit, Deposits and Money Supply
The RBI data also showed that bank credit grew 18.2 per cent year-on-year to Rs 227.43 lakh crore as of October 15, compared with 11.6 per cent growth a year earlier.
Aggregate bank deposits increased 16.7 per cent to Rs 278.76 lakh crore, against 9.5 per cent growth in the corresponding period last year.
Broad money supply (M3) expanded 16 per cent year-on-year as of October 15, compared with 9.2 per cent a year earlier.
(KNN Bureau)
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