Forex reserves fall nearly $10 billion to $622.275 billionIndia's foreign exchange reserves declined by $9.646 billion to $622.275 billion in the week that ended on March 11, according to the latest data from the Reserve Bank of India.That comes after reserves jumped by $394 million to $631.92 billion in the prior week that ended on March 4.The decline in the latest week was primarily driven by the fall in the foreign currency assets (FCA) - a significant component of the overall reserves.
Indeed, FCA decreased by $11.108 billion to $554.359 billion in the week that ended on March 11, the RBI weekly data released on Friday showed.Forex reserves had touched a lifetime high of $642.453 billion in the week that ended on September 3, 2021.The foreign currency assets - expressed in dollar terms, include the effect of appreciation or depreciation of non-US units like the euro, pound and yen held in the foreign exchange reserves.With the dollar gained driven by an increase in flight-to-safety bets and as the US Federal Reserve raised rates for the first time since the pandemic and is setting itself for an aggressive policy tightening stance.Gold reserves increased by $1.522 billion to $43.842 billion in the reporting week, the data showed.
The RBI said that the special drawing rights (SDRs) with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) dipped by $53 million to $18.928 billion.The country's reserve position with the IMF decreased by $7 million to $5.146 billion in the latest week.