RBI's forex reserves fall after seven straight weeks of rise

Reserves down by $31.6 million for week ended April 18, to $309.41 billion

After seven straight weeks of rising, the Reserve Bank of India's (RBI) foreign exchange reserves fell for the first time by $31.6 million for the week ending April 18 to $309.41 billion, shows RBI data released on Friday.

Foreign currency assets, a key component of reserves fell by $1.84 billion to $281.54 million. Gold reserves remained unchanged during the week.

For the week under review, the Special Drawing Rights (SDRs) fell by $ 10.9 million to $ 4.47 billion, while India's reserve position with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) was down $ 4.5 million to $ 1.83 billion.

Meanwhile, the rupee ended at Rs 60.63 compared with previous close of Rs 61.09 per dollar. The rupee had opened at Rs 61.07 and during intra-day trades it touched a high of Rs 60.54 and a low of Rs 61.15 per dollar.

The Indian rupee posted its biggest single-day gain in a month and a half due to dollar sale by foreign banks.

But currency dealers believe the rupee may again weaken next week as month end dollar demand continues from importers. “The rupee may trade in the range of Rs 60.80 to Rs 61.10 per dollar next week. The bias is towards weakening,” said the head of treasury of a public sector bank.