India's forex reserves fall $8.7 billion to $626 billion, hit 10-month low

India’s foreign exchange reserves fell for the sixth straight week to hit $625.9 billion—a 10-month low—for the week ended January 10. Latest data released by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) showed total reserves declined by $8.7 billion during the week.

 

Foreign currency assets fell by $9.5 billion, while the value of gold reserves went up by $792 million.

 

Foreign exchange reserves have declined by almost $80 billion since reaching an all-time high of $705 billion for the week ended September 27.

 

The fall in reserves is mainly due to the central bank’s intervention in the foreign exchange market to slow the pace of the rupee’s depreciation. The Indian unit has been under pressure for the last few months, depreciating by 3.2 per cent since October 1.

 

The Indian unit continued its downward trend, dropping 6 paise against the dollar on Friday to end the day at 86.61/$.

 

This week, the rupee fell 0.74 per cent against the greenback.