India's forex reserves drop USD 18.34 bn to USD 747.56 bn: RBI data

MUMBAI: India's forex reserves dropped USD 18.343 billion to USD 747.557 billion during the week ended September 25, the Reserve Bank said on Friday.

In the previous reporting week, the kitty had declined USD 14.881 billion to USD 765.901 billion.

The reserves had touched an all-time high of USD 785.706 billion for the week ended September 4 on the back of a heavy flow of currency as part of a special concessional swap for deposits from the diaspora through which banks raised a record sum of over USD 130 billion.

For the week ended September 25, foreign currency assets, a major component of reserves, decreased by USD 15.57 billion to USD 615.411 billion, according to the data released by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI).

Expressed in dollar terms, the foreign currency assets include effects of appreciation or depreciation of non-US units, such as the euro, pound, and yen, held in foreign exchange reserves.

The value of gold reserves decreased USD 2.591 billion to USD 108.701 billion during the week, the RBI said.

The Special Drawing Rights (SDRs) were down USD 97 million to USD 18.642 billion, the apex bank said.

India's reserve position with the IMF decreased USD 86 million and stood at USD 4.804 billion.