 "India's forex reserves fall $9.3 bn on RBI dollar sales, revaluation")
India’s foreign exchange (forex) reserves fell by $9.3 billion to $688 billion in the week ended August 1, the highest weekly fall in eight months, latest data by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) showed.
Reserves fell almost $18 billion for the week ended November 15, 2024. The reserves had hit a record high of $705 billion in September 2024.
Experts said that the total reserves fell on the back of dollar sales in the rupee spot market and revaluation losses, contributing largely to the decline in foreign currency assets, which dipped by $7.3 billion during the reported week.
“The RBI sold around $6.9 billion in spot because the rupee was under pressure during the week,” said Gaura Sen Gupta, chief economist at IDFC FIRST Bank. “There was a revaluation loss of about $2.1 billion,” he added. ALSO READ: US gold bar tariffs spark market turmoil and price surge in New York
The rupee had breached 87 per dollar mark in the previous week after US President Donald Trump imposed a 25 per cent tariff on exports of Indian goods. It was followed by foreign portfolio investor (FPI) outflows from Indian equity markets. Analysts said that global investors are increasingly shifting capital towards developed markets, which are currently trading at record highs.
“Rupee losses were capped during the week with intervention in both the spot and in the non-deliverable forwards (NDF) market,” said the treasury head at a private bank. “The rupee could have breached 88 per dollar, if the RBI had not stepped in,” he added.
The rupee depreciated by 1.17 per cent during the reported week. On the other hand, the dollar index rose by 1.53 per cent during the week. Dollar index measures the strength of the greenback against a basket of six major currencies.
Gold reserves decreased by $1.7 billion during the week. Special drawing rights (SDRs) were down $237 million to $18.5 billion. India's reserve position with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) was also down by $59 million to $4.6 billion in the reported week.