India's Forex Reserves Drop By $7.5 Billion To 681.38 Billion

India's forex reserves dropped USD 7.511 billion to USD 681.384 billion during the week ended May 22, the RBI said on Friday. In the previous reporting week, the kitty had dropped USD 8.094 billion to USD 688.894 billion.

The kitty had expanded to an all-time high of USD 728.494 billion during the week ended February 27 this year before the onset of the Middle East conflict that led to several weeks of a drop as the rupee came under pressure and the RBI had to intervene in the forex market through dollar sales.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi has also made multiple public appeals to countrymen to conserve forex by cutting down on foreign travel, limiting fuel use and refraining from gold buys for a year.

For the week ended May 22, foreign currency assets, a major component of the reserves, decreased USD 2.872 billion to USD 543.032 billion, the central bank's data showed.

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 also declined USD 4.53 billion to USD 114.786 billion during the week, the RBI said.

The Special Drawing Rights (SDRs) were down by USD 77 million to USD 18.748 billion, the apex bank said.

India's reserve position with the IMF was also down by USD 33 million to USD 4.818 billion at the end of the reporting week, according to the RBI data. 

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