India’s Forex Reserves Decline To $420 Billion

The country's foreign exchange reserves fell by $3.216 billion to $420.366 billion in the week to April 27 due to a fall in foreign currency assets, Reserve Bank of India data showed today.

In the previous week, the reserves had declined by $2.499 billion to $423.582 billion.

The reserves had touched a record high of $426.028 billion in the week to April 13. It had crossed the $400-billion mark for the first time in the week to Sept. 8, 2017, but has since been fluctuating.

In the reporting week, the foreign currency assets, a major component of the overall reserves, declined by $3.208 billion to $395.276 billion.

Expressed in the dollar terms, the foreign currency assets include the effect of appreciation or depreciation of the non-U.S. currencies such as the euro, the pound and the yen held in the reserves.

After remaining stable for past few weeks, gold reserves increased by $26.6 million to $21.510 billion in the reporting week, the RBI said.

The special drawing rights with the International Monetary Fund dipped by $14.6 million to $1.523 billion. The country's reserve position with the IMF also declined by $19.7 million to $2.055 billion, the apex bank said.