Forex Reserves Fall $2.16 Bn To $688.26 Bn

Mumbai: India’s forex reserves dropped by $2.163 billion to $688.267 billion for the week ended October 18, the Reserve Bank said on Friday. In the previous reporting week, the overall kitty had dropped by $10.746 billion to $690.43 billion in one of the largest declines in the reserves in recent times, the RBI said on Friday. In the preceding week, the reserves had dropped by $3.709 billion to $701.176 billion. At the end of September, the reserves had hit an all-time high of $704.885 billion. For the week ended October 18, foreign currency assets, a major component of the reserves, decreased by $3.865 billion to $598.236 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 increased by $1.786 million to $67.444 billion during the week, the RBI said.