India’s forex reserves drop by $5.68 bn to $561.27 bn

India’s forex reserves declined by $5.68 billion to $561.27 billion as of February 17, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) data showed on Friday.

Data released in the previous week showed that India’s foreign exchange reserves dropped by $8.31 billion to $566.94 billion as of February 10. India’s reserves fell 8.3%, logging the biggest decline in more than 11 months in the previous week.

In October 2021, the country’s forex kitty had reached an all-time high of USD 645 billion. The reserves have been declining as the central bank deploys the kitty to defend the rupee amid pressures caused majorly by global developments.

India’s foreign currency assets (FCA) fell by $4.52 billion to $496.07 billion. Expressed in dollar terms, the FCA includes the effect of appreciation or depreciation of non-US units like the euro, pound and yen held in the foreign exchange reserves.

Gold reserves fell by $1.04 billion, taking the reserves to $41.82 billion while SDRs fell by $87 million to $18.26 billion.