Forex reserves down by $1.581 bn to $611.149 bn

The country's foreign exchange reserves declined by $1.581 billion to stand at $611.149 billion for the week ended July 23, RBI data showed on Friday.

The reserves had reached a lifetime high of $612.730 billion after rising by $835 million in the previous week ended July 16, 2021.

In the reporting week, the drop in the reserves was mainly due to a fall in foreign currency assets (FCAs), a major component of the overall reserves, as per weekly data by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI).

FCAs declined by $1.12 billion to $567.628 billion.

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 were down by $449 million to $36.884 billion in the reporting week.

The special drawing rights (SDRs) with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) dipped by $3 million at $1.546 billion.

The country's reserve position with the IMF also declined by $9 million to $5.091 billion in the reporting week, as per the data.

Photograph: Nguyen Huy Kham/Reuters