Forex reserves drop by $2.36 b

India’s foreign exchange reserves declined by $2.36 billion in the week ended July 6 compared with an increase of $1.36 billion in the week ended June 29. As on July 6, the forex reserves stood at to $287.62 billion against $289.99 billion in the prior week. The reserves fell mainly because of the steep $2.32 billion drop in foreign currency assets. Changes in foreign currency assets expressed in US dollar terms include the effect of appreciation/depreciation of non-US currencies (such as the Euro, Sterling, and Yen) held in reserves, an RBI statement said. In the week under review, the rupee was more or less stable against the dollar. It opened at 55.56 on July 2 and closed at 55.44 on July 6. Since the beginning of the current fiscal (April 2012), India’s forex reserves have declined by about $6.8 billion.