Forex stocks decline $4.47 bn to $688.1 bn

Mumbai: India’s forex reserves declined $4.472 billion to $688.104 billion during the week ended November 21 due to a steep decrease in the value of gold reserves, the Reserve Bank of India said on Friday.

The overall reserves had increased by $5.543 billion to $692.576 billion in the previous reporting week.

For the week ended November 21, foreign currency assets, a major component of the reserves, decreased by $1.69 billion to $560.6 billion, the data released by the RBI showed.

Expressed in dollar terms, the foreign currency assets include the effects of appreciation or depreciation of non-US units, such as the euro, pound, and yen, held in the foreign exchange reserves.

Value of the gold reserves decreased by $2.675 billion to $104.182 billion during the week, the RBI said.

The Special Drawing Rights (SDRs) also decreased by $84 million to $18.566 billion, the apex bank said.

India’s reserve position with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) also fell by $23 million to $4.757 billion in the reporting week, according to the apex bank’s data.