Foreign exchange reserves drop by $2.47 billion to $616.895 billion

The country's foreign exchange reserves declined by USD 2.47 billion to reach USD 616.895 billion in the week ended August 20, RBI data showed on Friday.

In the previous week ended August 13, 2021, the reserves had declined by USD 2.099 billion to USD 619.365 billion. The forex kitty had touched a lifetime high of USD 621.464 billion in the week ended August 6, 2021.

In the reporting week, the decrease in the reserves was due to a drop in the foreign currency assets (FCAs), a major component of the overall reserves, as per weekly data by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI).

FCAs declined by USD 3.365 billion to USD 573.009 billion.

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 USD 913 million to USD 37.249 billion in the reporting week, the data showed.

The special drawing rights (SDRs) with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) dipped by USD 3 million at USD 1.541 billion.

The country's reserve position with the IMF slipped by USD 15 million to USD 5.096 billion.