India's forex kitty had reached an all-time high of $645 billion in October 2021
India's forex reserves dropped by $5.681 billion to $561.267 billion for the week ended February 17, the RBI said on Friday. This is the third consecutive week of a drop in the reserves after the $8.319 billion decrease in the previous reporting week to $566.948 billion.
In October 2021, the country's forex kitty had reached an all-time high of $645 billion. The reserves have been declining as the central bank deploys the kitty to defend the rupee amid pressures caused majorly by global developments.
For the week ended February 17, the foreign currency assets, a major component of the reserves, decreased by $4.515 billion to $496.072 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 decreased for the third week running and were $1.045 billion down to $41.817 billion, the RBI said.
The Special Drawing Rights (SDRs) were also down by $87 million to USD 18.267 billion, the apex bank said.
The country's reserve position with the IMF was down by USD 34 million to USD 5.111 billion in the reporting week, the apex bank data showed.