India’s foreign exchange reserves fell by USD 33.2 million to USD 400.847 billion in the week to August 17 mainly due to fall in foreign currency assets, according to RBI data.
In the previous week, the forex reserves had witnessed a drop of USD 1.822 billion to USD 400.881 billion.
The reserves have been declining in the past few weeks as the Reserve Bank is selling the US dollar to contain depreciation in the rupee, which is frequently testing the 70-level against the American unit.
The rupee opened today at 70.24 a dollar and closed at 69.91. The Indian unit had hit an intra-day low of USD 70.40 on April 14, 2018.
In the week ended August 17, foreign currency assets, a major component of the overall reserves, dipped by USD 60.2 million to USD 376.205 billion, as per data.
Expressed in the US dollar terms, foreign currency assets include the effect of appreciation/depreciation of the non-US currencies such as the euro, pound and the yen held in the reserves.
Gold reserves rose by USD 36.1 million to USD 20.727 billion in the reporting week.
The special drawing rights with International Monetary Fund (IMF) dipped by USD 3.4 million to USD 1.463 billion.
The country’s reserve position with the IMF also declined by USD 5.7 million to USD 2.452 billion, the apex bank said.
