After four-week uptrend, forex reserves drop by USD 1.65 bn

After rising for four consecutive weeks, India's foreign exchange reserves declined by USD 1.657 billion to USD 281.294 billion in the week to November 1 on account of drop in a key component, Reserve Bank said today.
In the previous reporting week, reserves had increased by USD 1.828 billion to USD 282.95 billion.
Foreign currency assets (FCAs), which form the largest chunk of the reserves, dropped USD 894.2 million to USD 253.609 billion in the week under review, the apex bank said.
FCAs, expressed in 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.

After remaining unchanged for five weeks in a row, gold reserves fell by USD 538.1 million to USD 21.227 billion in the week ended on November 1. The special drawing rights dipped by USD 46.9 million to USD 4.423 billion.
India's reserve position with the IMF also fell by USD 177.9 million to USD 2.035 billion in the week under review, RBI data showed.