Forex reserves down by USD 1.34 billion to USD 290.57 billion

Forex reserves continued their slide for the third consecutive week, slipping by USD 1.34 billion to USD 290.57 billion on a dip in currency assets and gold reserves, the Reserve Bank said today.
The total foreign exchange reserves had declined by USD 1.60 billion to USD 291.92 billion in the previous reporting week.
Foreign currency assets, a major component of the forex reserves, were down by USD 621.1 million to USD 257.61 billion for the week ended March 1, 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.

After remaining unchanged for a few weeks, the gold reserves declined by USD 682.6 million to USD 26.292 billion during the week, the apex bank said.
For the week under review, the special drawing rights (SDRs) were down by USD 24.8 million to USD 4.351 billion, while the country's reserve position with the IMF was also down by USD 13.2 million to USD 2.322 billion, the apex bank data showed.