Foreign exchange reserves fall $2.33 bn to $ 590.70 bn

The country’s foreign exchange reserves declined further by $2.335 billion to $590.702 billion for the week ended September 22, the Reserve Bank said on Friday.

In the previous reporting week, the overall reserves dropped by $867 million to $593.037 billion. It can be noted that in October 2021, the country’s foreign exchange kitty reached an all-time high of $645 billion. The reserves took a hit as the central bank deployed the reserves to defend the rupee amid pressures caused majorly by global developments since last year.

For the week ended September 22, the foreign currency assets, a major component of the reserves, decreased by $2.552 billion to $523.363 billion, according to the Weekly Statistical Supplement released by the Reserve Bank of India (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 up by $307 million to $18.012 billion. The country’s reserve position with the IMF also declined by $11 million to $5.019 billion in the reporting week, the apex bank data showed.