India’s foreign exchange (forex) reserves declined by USD 12.6 million to USD 295.50 billion for the week ended Dec 20, Reserve Bank of India (RBI) data showed.
This is the second consecutive week of decline in the country’s forex reserves.
The foreign exchange reserves had declined by USD 192.8 million to USD 295.51 billion for the week ended December 31 after posting strong gains in the previous five weeks largely due to the special swap window opened by the RBI.
According to the RBI’s weekly statistical supplement, foreign currency assets, the biggest component of the forex reserves, dropped by USD 94.7 million to USD 268.46 billion. The foreign currency assets had dropped by USD 191.1 million in the previous week.
According to the RBI, the foreign currency assets, expressed in the US dollar terms, include the effect of appreciation or depreciation of non-US currencies held in reserve, such as the pound sterling, euro and yen.
The value of special drawing rights (SDRs) fell by USD 9.1 million to USD 4.43 billion during the week under review.
However, India’s reserve position with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) rose by USD 91.2 million to USD 1.99 billion.
The value of India’s gold reserves remained unchanged at USD 20.60 billion.
IANS