Forex reserves drop by $ 4.11 billion to $ 640.27 billion

India's forex reserves dropped by USD 4.112 billion to USD 640.279 billion during the week ended December 27, the Reserve Bank said on Friday. In the previous reporting week, the overall kitty had dropped by USD 8.478 billion to USD 644.391 billion.

The reserves have been declining for the last few weeks, and the drop has been attributed to revaluation along with forex market interventions by RBI to help reduce volatility in the rupee.

The forex reserves had increased to an all-time high of USD 704.885 billion in end-September.

For the week ended December 27, foreign currency assets, a major component of the reserves, decreased by USD 4.641 billion to USD 551.921 billion, the data released on Friday showed.

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 increased by USD 541 million to USD 66.268 billion during the week, the RBI said.

The Special Drawing Rights (SDRs) were down by USD 12 million to USD 17.873 billion, the apex bank said.

India's reserve position with the IMF was unchanged at USD 4.217 billion in the reporting week, the apex bank data showed.