Forex reserves drop $3.017 billion to $542.021 billion

After touching a lifetime high in the previous week, the country's foreign exchange reserves declined by USD 3.017 billion to USD 542.021 billion in the week ended September 25, RBI data showed on Friday.

In the week ended September 18, the reserves had increased by USD 3.378 billion to a record USD 545.038 billion. During the reporting week, the decline in the forex kitty was mainly due to a fall in foreign currency assets (FCAs), a major component of the overall reserves.

FCAs decreased by USD 1.523 billion to USD 499.941 billion, the central bank data showed. 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 USD 1.441 billion in the reporting week to USD 35.999 billion, the RBI data showed. The special drawing rights with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) dipped by USD 10 million to USD 1.472 billion. The country's reserve position with the IMF also fell by USD 43 million to USD 4.608 billion during the reporting week, as per the data.