Forex kitty shrinks $7.27 bn to $594.88 bn

Mumbai: India’s forex reserves dropped by $7.273 billion to $594.888 billion for the week ended August 18, the Reserve Bank said on Friday.

In the previous reporting week, the overall reserves had risen by $708 million to $602.161 billion. The country’s forex kitty had reached an all-time high of $645 billion in October 2021. The reserves took a hit as the central bank deployed the kitty to defend the rupee amid pressures caused majorly by global developments since last year. For the week ended August 18, the foreign currency assets, a major component of the reserves, decreased by $6.613 billion to $527.786 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 were down by $515 million to $43.824 billion, the RBI said. The Special Drawing Rights (SDRs) were down by $119 million to $18.205 billion, the apex bank said. The country’s reserve position with the IMF was also down by $25 million to $5.072 billion in the reporting week, the apex bank data showed.