India's foreign exchange reserves declined for the second consecutive week, ending USD 1.783 billion down at USD 635.905 billion for the week ended December 3, RBI data showed on Friday.
The rupee dropped by 18 paise to an over 16-month low of 75.78 on Friday amid consistent foreign fund outflows and growing concerns about inflation. At the interbank foreign exchange market, the rupee opened lower at 75.65 a dollar and later tanked to the day's low of 75.85 in line with a lacklustre trend in equity markets. The local unit pared some of the losses in the closing session to end at 75.78 (provisional), its lowest closing level since June 22, 2020. The rupee also declined for a third straight week with a weekly loss of 66 paise or 0.88 per cent against the dollar. The US consumer inflation data for November would be released later on Friday with experts expecting the consumer price index (CPI) to rise further. The retail inflation had risen to 6.2 per cent in October which was the sharpest increase in 31 years. Any hike in inflation would be seen as a case for tightening of monetary policy by the US Federal Reserve, which could lead to outflows of funds from emerging
The forex reserves increased on a healthy increase in the currency assets and value of gold
At the end of September 2021, India's foreign exchange reserves stood at 635.36 billion
As on September 18, India's foreign exchange reserves stood at $541.67 billion
In the previous week ended July 31, the reserves had increased by $11.938 billion to reach $534.568 billion
Gold reserves were up by $13 million to $34.743 billion, as per the data
India's foreign exchange reserves fell by $2.078 billion during the week ended June 19
The country was forced to sell its gold in early 1991 to raise emergency funding from the IMF
Currency dealers say there were dollar inflows on account of Reliance Jio and Airtel deals, which the central bank absorbed
In the previous week, the reserves had increased by $1.726 billion to $487.04 billion.
In the previous week, the reserves had increased by USD 58 million to USD 461.21 billion
In the reporting week, the reserves rose despite a decline in foreign currency assets (FCA), which is a major component of the overall reserves.
In the previous week, the reserves had increased by $1.832 billion to $442.583 billion
The overall kitty had expanded by $1.04 billion to $440.751 billion in the previous reporting week
Retail gold imports in July nearly halve to 38 tonnes. August imports dip to 3-year year low of 30 tonnes, down as much as 73% YoY
In the previous week, the reserves had surged by $ 1.217 billion to touch a record high of $ 426.082 billion
The reserves had touched a record high of $371.279 billion after it increased by $3.513 billion in the previous week
On September 2, the foreign currency assets stood at $342.23 billion, gold at $21.62 billion
On August 19, the foreign current assets stood at $341.67 billion, gold $21.58 billion