India’s forex reserves dropped by $9.8 billion to $686.81 billion in the week to January 2, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) said on Friday.

Illustration: Dado Ruvic/Reuters

In the previous reporting week, the forex reserves had jumped by $3.29 billion to $696.61 billion.

For the week ended January 2, foreign currency assets, a major component of reserves, decreased by $7.62 billion to $551.99 billion, the central bank’s data showed.

Expressed in dollar terms, the foreign currency assets include the effects of appreciation or depreciation of non-US units, such as the euro, pound, and yen, held in the foreign exchange reserves.

Value of the gold reserves dropped by $2.06 billion to $111.26 billion during the week, the RBI said.

The Special Drawing Rights (SDRs) were down by $25 million to $18.78 billion, the apex bank said.

India’s reserve position with the IMF dropped by $105 million to $4.77 billion in the reporting week, according to the apex bank’s data.