Forex reserves down $2.82 b to $287.85 b

After two consecutive weeks of additions, the foreign exchange reserves dipped sharply by $2.82 billion to $287.85 billion due to a fall in currency assets, the Reserve Bank said today.

The total reserves had gone up by $982 million in the previous reporting week.

Foreign currency assets, a major component of forex reserves, were down by $2.66 billion to $258.43 billion for the week ended June 21, the Reserve Bank data showed.

Foreign currency assets expressed in US dollar terms include the effect of appreciation or depreciation of the non-US currencies, such as the euro, pound and yen, held in the reserves, the apex bank said.

The gold reserves were unchanged at $22.836 billion, the apex bank said.

For the week under review, the special drawing rights (SDRs) were down by $28.3 million to $4.372 billion, while the country's reserve position with the IMF declined by a whopping $128.4 million to $2.204 billion, the apex bank data showed.