Forex reserves drop by $2.17 billion to $584.74 billion in a week

The country's forex reserves dropped by a further USD 2.166 billion to USD 584.742 billion for the week ended October 6, the RBI said on Friday.

India's forex kitty had gone down by USD 3.794 billion to USD 586.908 billion in the previous week.

It can be noted that in October 2021, the country's forex kitty had reached an all-time high of USD 645 billion. The reserves took a hit as the central bank deployed the kitty to defend the rupee amid pressures caused majorly by global developments since last year.

For the week ended October 6, the foreign currency assets, a major component of the reserves, decreased by USD 707 million to USD 519.529 billion, according to the Weekly Statistical Supplement released by the RBI.

Expressed in dollar terms, the foreign currency assets include the effect of appreciation or depreciation of non-US units like the euro, pound and yen held in the foreign exchange reserves.

Gold reserves were down by a sharp USD 1.425 billion to USD 42.306 billion, the Reserve Bank of India said.

The Special Drawing Rights (SDRs) were down by USD 15 million to USD 17.923 billion, the apex bank added.

India's reserve position with the IMF was also down by USD 19 million to USD 4.983 billion in the reporting week, the central bank data showed.