India’s forex reserves snap two-week winning streak, drops by $5.27 billion to reach $617.23 billion: RBI Data

India’s foreign exchange (forex) reserves snapped a two-week gaining streak and stood at $617.23 billion as of February 9, coming off a one-month high, data from the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) showed on Friday. The reserves fell by $5.27 billion in the reporting week, their steepest fall in a month, after having risen by a total of $6.36 billion in the prior two weeks.

The RBI intervenes in the foreign exchange market to curb excess volatility in the rupee. The changes in foreign currency assets are caused by the RBI’s intervention as well as the appreciation or depreciation of foreign assets held in the reserves.

Foreign exchange reserves also include India’s reserve tranche position in the International Monetary Fund (IMF). In the week that the foreign exchange data pertains, the rupee fell 0.1 per cent against the dollar and traded in a range of 82.8875 and 83.0700. The domestic currency settled at 83.0150 on Friday, little changed for this week.