After rising for four consecutive weeks, India’s foreign exchange reserves declined by $1.657 billion to $281.294 billion in the week to November 1 on account of drop in a key component, Reserve Bank said today.
In the previous reporting week, reserves had increased by $1.828 billion to $282.95 billion.
Foreign currency assets (FCAs), which form the largest chunk of the reserves, dropped $894.2 million to $253.609 billion in the week under review, the apex bank said.
FCAs, expressed in dollar terms, include the effect of appreciation or depreciation of the non—US currencies such as the euro, pound and yen, held in the reserves.
After remaining unchanged for five weeks in a row, gold reserves fell by $538.1 million to $21.227 billion in the week ended on November 1. The special drawing rights dipped by $46.9 million to $4.423 billion.
India’s reserve position with the IMF also fell by $177.9 million to $2.035 billion in the week under review.