Mumbai: India’s forex reserves dropped by $5.401 billion to $643.162 billion for the week ended April 12, the Reserve Bank said on Friday.
The overall reserves increased by $$2.88 billion to a new high of $648.562 billion in the previous reporting week.
It can be noted that in September 2021, the country’s forex kitty reached an all-time high of $642.453 billion, which was breached in March this year.
The reserves took a hit as the central bank deployed the kitty to defend the rupee amid pressures caused majorly by global events, but there had been a steady accretion over the past few months.
For the week ended April 12, the foreign currency assets, a major component of the reserves, decreased by $6.513 billion to $564.653 billion, the data released on Friday showed.
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 continued their rise and increased by $1.241 billion to $55.798 billion during the week, the RBI said.
The special drawing rights (SDRs) were down $93 million to $18.077 billion, the apex bank said.
India’s reserve position with the IMF was also down by $35 million to $4.634 billion in the reporting week, the central bank data showed.