India's forex reserves drop by $8.32 bn to $566.95 bn

Mumbai, India's forex reserves dropped by $8.319 billion to $566.948 billion for the week ended February 10, the RBI said on Friday.

This is the second consecutive week of drop in the reserves after the $1.49-billion decrease in the previous reporting 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 have been declining as the central bank deploys the kitty to defend the rupee amid pressures caused majorly by global developments.

For the week ended February 10, the foreign currency assets, a major component of the reserves, decreased by $7.108 billion to $500.587 billion, according to the Weekly Statistical Supplement released by the RBI on Friday.

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 decreased for the second week running and were $919 million down to $42.862 billion, the RBI said.

The Special Drawing Rights (SDRs) were also down by $190 million to $18.354 billion, the RBI said.

The country's reserve position with the IMF was down by $102 million to $5.145 billion in the reporting week, the apex bank data showed.