India's foreign exchange reserves experienced its biggest decline in over 11 months, dropping by 8.3 percent in the week ending February 10, according to the Reserve Bank of India's (RBI) statistical supplement released on Friday.
As of the end of last week, India's foreign exchange reserves were recorded at a one-month low of $566.95 billion, reflecting a decline of 8.3 percent from the previous week's figure of $575.27 billion, during which it fell 1.5 percent.
The Weekly Statistical Supplement released by the RBI revealed that, for the week ending February 10, the foreign currency assets - a significant component of India's foreign exchange reserves - decreased by $7.108 billion to $500.587 billion.
It's important to note that the foreign currency assets are expressed in dollar terms and take into account the effect of appreciation or depreciation of non-US currencies like the euro, pound, and yen that are held in the foreign exchange reserves.
According to the Reserve Bank of India, gold reserves have decreased for the second consecutive week, dropping by $919 million to reach a total of $42.862 billion.
Additionally, the Special Drawing Rights (SDRs) also decreased by $190 million to $18.354 billion. The country's reserve position with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) also declined by $102 million to $5.145 billion during the reporting week, as per data from the apex bank.
During the week in question, the Indian rupee experienced its largest decline in two months, falling 0.8 percent against the US dollar. It traded within a narrow range of 82.3400 to 82.7950.
It is worth noting that in October 2021, the foreign exchange reserves of the country had reached a record high of $645 billion. The reserves have been declining as the central bank deploys the kitty to defend the rupee amid pressures caused majorly by global developments.
(Edited by : Pradeep John)
