Forex reserves decline $4.88 billion to $685.72 billion, shows RBI data

The forex reserves had swollen by $4.55 billion in the previous week, which had pushed the total reserves to $690.617 billion. The country had reached a record high of $704.885 billion in Sep 2024

India’s foreign exchange reserves declined by $4.88 billion to $685.72 billion for the week ending May 16, according to data released by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on Friday. 

 

The forex reserves had swollen by $4.55 billion in the previous week, which had pushed the total reserves to $690.617 billion. The country had reached a record high of $704.885 billion in September 2024.

 

During the reporting week, foreign currency assets, the largest portion of the reserves, rose by $279 million to $581.652 billion. These assets, when valued in dollars, reflect changes due to the movement of other major currencies like the euro, pound, and yen. 

 

Meanwhile, gold reserves saw a significant decrease of $5.12 billion, bringing them down to $81.21 billion. RBI had declared gold reserves worth $86.337 billion last week.  The value of Special Drawing Rights (SDRs) dropped by $43 million to $18.49 billion. The central bank had posted $18.53 billion SDRs for the week ending May 9.   Additionally, India’s reserve position with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) decreased by $3 million to $4.371 billion, it had reported $4.374 billion reserve position in IMF last week.