The Reserve Bank of India reported on Friday that India’s foreign exchange reserves fell by USD 325 million to USD 560.942 billion as of February 24, marking the fourth consecutive week of decline.
Overall reserves fell by USD 5.68 billion to USD 561.267 billion in the previous reporting week.
The forex kitty reached an all-time high of USD 645 billion in October 2021. The reserves have been declining as the central bank uses them to defend the rupee against pressures from a variety of sources, most notably global developments.
According to the RBI’s Weekly Statistical Supplement for the week ending February 24, foreign currency assets, a major component of reserves, decreased by USD 166 million to USD 495.906 billion.
Foreign currency assets, expressed in dollars, include the effect of appreciation or depreciation of non-US units such as the euro, pound, and yen held in foreign exchange reserves.
Gold reserves fell for the fourth week in a row, falling USD 66 million to USD 41.751 billion.
SDRs (Special Drawing Rights) fell by USD 80 million to USD 18.187 billion.
According to RBI data, the country’s reserve position with the IMF fell by USD 12 million to USD 5.098 billion in the reporting week.
Source:BS