India's forex reserves dip by $1.39 bn

The country's foreign exchange reserves declined by $1.39 billion (about Rs 6,900 crore) in the week ended May 1 to $251.70 billion, mainly on account of a revaluation of currencies and a decrease in value of gold assets held by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI).

According to data released by RBI, foreign currency assets dropped by $1.04 billion to $ 241.49 billion at the end of May 1. Bank dealers said the drop in currency assets was primarily due to the depreciation in Japanese yen.

“Two currencies in the reserve — euro and sterling — have appreciated during the week, while yen has depreciated by almost two levels, which shows that a considerable amount of our forex reserve is held in the yen,” a dealer with a public sector bank said.

Gold reserve declined by $346 million to $9.23 billion as the gold price declined in the week. The reserve position with International Monetary Fund remained unchanged during the week. Also, Special Drawing Rights remained static.

During the period under review, foreign institutional investors bought equities worth $402 million (about 2,000 crore). The rupee appreciated to 50.26 levels on April 27 as against 50.09 levels on March 25.