Forex Reserves Declines To $690.7 Billion, Reversing Last Week's Advance
For the week ended Aug. 22, foreign currency assets—a major component of the reserves— declined $3.65 billion to $582.25 billion.
India's foreign exchange reserves fell to $690.72 billion for the week ended Aug. 22, according to data from the Reserve Bank of India on Friday.
The country's forex kitty fell by $4.39 billion over the previous reporting week. In the previous reporting week, the reserves had risen to $695.1 billion.
The RBI's forex holdings had steadily recovered in the first six months of this calendar year, but the numbers have slumped in the last month.
The decline can be attributed to robust central bank intervention in the currency market to support the rupee amid a strong dollar. The RBI typically sells dollar from its reserves when the local currency is under pressure to curb excessive volatility.
The Indian rupee weakened by 58 paise to record closing low of 88.21 against the US dollar on Friday. In morning trade, the rupee had fallen as much as 68 paise to a record low of 88.31.
The currency also came under pressure as FIIs offloaded equities worth Rs 3,592.7 crore on Thursday.
Foreign investors have pulled out $10.49 billion from the country's debt and equity markets so far this year, according to data from the National Securities Depository Ltd.
For the week ended Aug. 22, foreign currency assets—a major component of the reserves— declined $3.65 billion to $582.25 billion, according to the RBI data. In dollar terms, foreign currency assets include the effect of the appreciation or depreciation of non-US units like the euro, pound and yen held in foreign exchange reserves.
Gold reserves decreased by $0.67 billion to $85 billion during the week.
India ranks as the fourth-largest holder of foreign exchange reserves, sufficient to cover nearly a year of imports. The country's forex holdings are the fourth largest, after China, Japan and Switzerland.
