India's forex reserves down $1.9 bn to $298.31 bn

The country's foreign exchange reserves slid by $1.9-billion to $298.31-billion on the back of a heavy decline in foreign currency.

The total forex kitty had crossed the $300-billion mark for the first time since 2008 last week and stood at $300.21-billion.

Foreign currency assets, a major component of the forex kitty, went down by nearly $1.8-billion to $269.49-billion for the week ended November 12, data released by the Reserve Bank 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 country's gold reserves remained static for the second consecutive week at $21.67-billion, the apex bank said.

India's Special Drawing Rights (SDRs) were down by $73-million to $5.15-billion for the week, while the country's reserve position in the International Monetary Fund also went down by $34-million to $2.001-billion, the apex bank data showed.