India’s forex reserves falls $7.27 billion to $594.88 billion; steepest weekly decline in over 6 months: RBI Data

India’s foreign exchange reserves dropped by $7.273 billion to $594.888 billion for the week ended August 18, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) data showed on Friday, August 25. Forex reserves posted their steepest weekly fall in more than six months, according to the data.

They fell by $7.27 billion from the prior week, the sharpest decline since the week ended February 10. The changes in foreign currency assets, expressed in dollar terms, include the effects of appreciation or depreciation of other currencies held in the RBI reserves.

The foreign currency assets, a major component of the reserves, decreased by $6.613 billion to $527.786 billion, according to the Weekly Statistical Supplement released by the RBI.

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 were down by $515 million to $43.824 billion, the RBI said. The Special Drawing Rights (SDRs) were down by $119 million to $18.205 billion, the apex bank said.

The country’s reserve position with the IMF was also down by $25 million to $5.072 billion in the reporting week, according to RBI data.

The changes in foreign currency assets, expressed in dollar terms, include the effects of appreciation or depreciation of other currencies held in the Reserve Bank of India’s (RBI) reserves.

The forex reserves include India’s Reserve Tranche position in the International Monetary Fund (IMF). The RBI also intervenes in the spot and forwards markets to prevent runaway moves in the rupee.

In the week for which the forex reserves data pertains, the rupee dropped to a 10-month low of 83.16 against the US dollar, prompting intervention from the RBI, according to news agency Reuters.

Earlier this week, RBI Governor Shaktikanta Das reiterated that the central bank has no specific target for the rupee. The currency ended at 82.6475 on Friday, rising more than 0.5 per cent for the week and logging its best weekly performance since July 14.