Forex reserves down by USD 1.444 bn to USD 392.078 bn

Continuing its decline, the country's foreign exchange reserves slumped by USD 1.444 billion to USD 392.078 billion in the week to October 26 due to a fall in foreign currency assets, according to RBI data.

In the previous week, the reserves had declined by USD 942 million to USD 393.523 billion.

In the reporting week, foreign currency assets, a major component of overall reserves, fell by USD 1.426 billion to USD 367.350 billion, as per the RBI data.

Expressed in US dollars, foreign currency assets include the effect of appreciation or depreciation of non-US currencies such as the euro, the pound and the yen held in the reserves.

Forex reserves had touched a record high of USD 426.028 billion in the week to April 13, 2018. Since then, the forex kitty has been on a slide and is now down by over USD 31 billion.

Gold reserves remained unchanged for the second consecutive week at USD 20.522 billion, the data showed.

The special drawing rights with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) was down by USD 7 million to USD 1.458 billion.

The country's reserve position with the IMF also declined by USD 11.6 million to USD 2.447 billion, the apex bank said.