Forex drops by $1.09 bn to $529 bn on sharp decline in gold reserves: Data

The gold reserves dropped by $705 million to $37.057 billion

India's foreign exchange reserves dropped by USD 1.087 billion to stand at USD 529.994 billion for the week ended November 4 on a sharp decline in the gold reserves, the Reserve Bank said on Friday.

In the previous reporting week, the reserves had swelled by USD 6.561 billion to reach USD 531.081 billion, making it the biggest weekly jump in a year.

In October 2021, the country's forex kitty had reached an all-time high of USD 645 billion. The reserves have been declining as the central bank deploys the kitty to defend the rupee amid pressures caused by global developments.

Foreign currency assets (FCA), a major component of the overall reserves, decreased by USD 120 million to USD 470.727 billion during the week to November 4, 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.

The gold reserves dropped by USD 705 million to USD 37.057 billion, it said.

The Special Drawing Rights (SDRs) were down by USD 235 million to USD 17.39 billion.

The country's reserve position with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) also dipped by USD 27 million to USD 4.82 billion in the reporting week, the apex bank data showed.