Forex reserves down $616.4 mn to $293.69 bn

The country's forex reserves slipped for the second consecutive week, dipping by USD 616.4 million to USD 293.69 billion on a fall in currency assets, the Reserve Bank said today.
The total reserves had slumped by USD 2.06 billion to USD 294.31 billion in the previous reporting week.
Foreign currency assets, a major component of the forex reserves, were down by USD 568.1 million to USD 263.16 billion for the week ended May 10, Reserve Bank's weekly statistical supplement said today.
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 gold reserves remained unchanged at USD 23.98 billion at the end of the week, the apex bank said.
For the week under review, the special drawing rights (SDRs) were down by USD 31.9 million to USD 4.329 billion, while the country's reserve position with the IMF was down USD 16.4 million to USD 2.226 billion, the apex bank data showed.