Forex reserves fall by USD 685 mn to USD 274.8 bn

India's foreign exchange reserves declined by USD 685.1 million to USD 274.81 billion in the week ended August 30 due to a dip in the foreign currency assets, the Reserve Bank said today.
During the year-on-year period, the reserves fell by a whopping USD 17.239 billion, the RBI data showed, as the months beginning from June saw heavy intervention by the apex bank in the forex market to prop the rupee, which shed 28 per cent before the reporting week since the beginning of FY'14.
The rupee appreciated by over 4 per cent against the dollar since the new RBI Governor Raghuram Rajan assumed office on September 4.

Foreign currency assets (FCAs), a major component of the reserves, dropped by a USD 656.5 million to USD 246.745 billion for the week ended August 30, the Reserve Bank said.
FCAs, 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.
However, during the week, the gold reserves remained unchanged at USD 21.724 billion, the central bank said, adding the special drawing rights (SDRs) declined USD 19.6 million to USD 4.355 billion.
India's reserve position with the International Monetary Fund fell by USD 9 million to USD1.981 billion in the week under review, the data showed.