India’s forex reserves experienced a notable decrease of $2.1 billion, according to the latest RBI data, impacting foreign currency assets, gold reserves, and SDR holdings.
Illustration: Dado Ruvic/Reuters
Key Points
- India’s forex reserves decreased by $2.1 billion, reaching $723.6 billion.
- Foreign currency assets, a major component of the reserves, decreased by $1.0 billion.
- The value of gold reserves experienced a drop of $977 million.
- Special Drawing Rights (SDRs) saw a decrease of $84 million.
- India’s reserve position with the IMF also decreased by $18 million.
India’s forex reserves dropped by $2.1 billion to $723.6 billion during the week ended February 20, the RBI said on Friday.
In the previous reporting week, the overall reserves had jumped by $8.66 billion to a new all-time high of $725.73 billion.
Decline in Foreign Currency Assets
For the week ended February 20, foreign currency assets, a major component of the reserves, decreased by $1 billion to $572.56 billion, the data released by the central bank 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.
Gold and SDR Reserves Also Affected
Value of the gold reserves dropped by $977 million to $127.5 billion during the week, the RBI said.
The Special Drawing Rights (SDRs) were down by $84 million to $18.84 billion, the apex bank said.
India’s reserve position with the IMF was also down by $18 million to $4.7 billion in the reporting week, according to the apex bank’s data.
