India's Forex reserves drop by over $152 mn

India's foreign exchange (Forex) reserves dropped by $152.4 million as on March 16, official data showed on Friday.

The Reserve Bank of India's (RBI) weekly statistical supplement showed that the overall Forex reserves dropped to $421.33 billion from $421.48 billion reported for the week ended March 9.

India's Forex reserves comprise of foreign currency assets (FCAs), gold reserves, special drawing rights (SDRs) and the RBI's position with the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

Segment-wise, FCAs -- the largest component of the Forex reserves -- decreased by $175.2 million to $396.15 billion during the week under review.

Besides the US dollar, FCAs consist of nearly 20-30 per cent of major global currencies. It also includes investments in US Treasury bonds, bonds of other selected governments and deposits with foreign central and commercial banks.

However, the country's gold reserves value rose by $13.2 million to $21.56 billion.

Similarly, the SDRs value increased. It inched up by $4.1 million to $1.53 billion, while the country's reserve position with the IMF edged-up by $5.5 million to $2.07 billion.

--IANS

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