After four-week uptrend, forex reserves drop by $1.65 bn

After rising for four consecutive weeks, India's foreign exchange reserves declined by $1.657 billion to $281.294 billion in the week to November 1 on account of drop in a key component, Reserve Bank said.

In the previous reporting week, reserves had increased by $1.828 billion to $282.95 billion.

Foreign currency assets (FCAs), which form the largest chunk of the reserves, dropped $894.2 million to $253.609 billion in the week under review, the apex bank said.

FCAs, expressed in dollar terms, include the effect of appreciation or depreciation of the non-US currencies such as the euro, pound and yen, held in the reserves.

After remaining unchanged for five weeks in a row, gold reserves fell by $538.1 million to $21.227 billion in the week ended on November 1. The special drawing rights dipped by $46.9 million to $4.423 billion.

India's reserve position with the IMF also fell by $177.9 million to $2.035 billion in the week under review, RBI data showed.