Forex reserves slide $11.17 bn to $606.475 bn, steepest fall in a week

In the steepest weekly fall ever, India's forex reserves slid by USD 11.173 billion to USD 606.475 billion as the currency came under pressure due to geopolitical developments, according to the Reserve Bank data released on Friday.

For the previous reporting week ended March 25, the overall reserves had slid by USD 2.03 billion to USD 617.648 billion.

The steep fall in the reserves was because of a decline in the core currency assets, which fell by USD 10.727 billion to USD 539.727 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.

Typically, the RBI intervenes in the market to reduce volatility in the currency market by selling from its reserves kitty. The Russian invasion of Ukraine has led to troubles in the currency markets.

The previous worst weekly fall was of USD 9.6 billion for the week ended on March 11.

For the reporting week, the value of gold reserves also decreased by USD 507 million to USD 42.734 billion, the RBI data showed.

The special drawing rights (SDRs) with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) increased by USD 58 million to USD 18.879 billion, the RBI said. The country's reserve position with the IMF also increased by USD 4 million to USD 5.136 billion in the reporting week, the data showed.