India’s foreign exchange reserves declined by USD 7.052 billion to USD 709.759 billion in the week ended 13 March, according to data released by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on Friday.
This marks the second consecutive weekly fall in the country’s forex kitty. In the previous reporting week, reserves had dropped by USD 11.683 billion to USD 716.81 billion. The reserves had touched an all-time high of USD 725.727 billion in the week ended 13 February this year.
The latest decline was primarily driven by a sharp fall in foreign currency assets (FCAs), which form the largest component of the reserves. FCAs fell by USD 7.678 billion to USD 555.568 billion during the reporting week.
In contrast, the value of gold reserves registered an increase during the week. Gold holdings rose by USD 664 million to USD 130.681 billion, providing some cushion to the overall reserve position.
Meanwhile, Special Drawing Rights (SDRs) declined by USD 23 million to USD 18.697 billion. India’s reserve position with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) also slipped by USD 15 million to USD 4.814 billion during the week, the central bank’s data showed.