Foreign exchange stocks drop $9.322 bn to $688.871 bn

Mumbai: India’s forex reserves dropped by $9.322 billion to $688.871 billion for the week ended August 1 in one of the highest declines in the recent past, the RBI data showed on Friday.

The overall reserves rose by $2.703 billion to $698.192 billion in the previous reporting week. For the week ended August 1, foreign currency assets, a major component of the reserves, decreased by $7.319 billion to $581.607 billion, according to the data.

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. The gold reserves decreased by $1.706 billion to $83.998 billion during the week, the RBI said.

The Special Drawing Rights were down by $237 million to $18.572 billion, the apex bank said.

India’s reserve position with the IMF was also down by $59 million at $4.694 billion in the reporting week, the RBI data showed.