India's foreign exchange reserves drop $2.16 bn to $688.26 bn: Govt data

India's forex reserves dropped by USD 2.163 billion to USD 688.267 billion for the week ended October 18, the Reserve Bank said on Friday.

In the previous reporting week, the overall kitty had dropped by USD 10.746 billion to USD 690.43 billion in one of the largest declines in the reserves in recent times, the RBI said on Friday.

In the preceding week, the reserves had dropped by USD 3.709 billion to USD 701.176 billion. At the end of September, the reserves had hit an all-time high of USD 704.885 billion.

For the week ended October 18, foreign currency assets, a major component of the reserves, decreased by USD 3.865 billion to USD 598.236 billion, the data released on Friday showed.

Expressed in dollar terms, the foreign currency assets include the effect of appreciation or depreciation of non-US units like the euro, pound and yen held in the foreign exchange reserves.

Gold reserves increased by USD 1.786 million to USD 67.444 billion during the week, the RBI said.

The Special Drawing Rights (SDRs) were down by USD 68 million to USD 18.271 billion, the apex bank said.

India's reserve position with the IMF was down by USD 16 million to USD 4.316 billion in the reporting week, the apex bank data showed.