India's forex reserves slide to $600.42 billion; 7th straight weekly fall

Mumbai: India's foreign exchange (forex) reserves dipped by $3.27 billion to $600.42 billion for the week ended April 22, registering the seventh straight week of fall, as the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) appears to keep selling dollars to prevent a slide in the value of rupee amid the ongoing Russia-Ukraine conflict.

According to the RBI's weekly statistical supplement, India's forex reserves slumped by $3.271 billion to $600.423 billion for the week ended April 22.

The forex reserves had declined by $311 million in the previous week.

This is the seventh straight week of fall in the country's forex reserves.

India's forex reserves have fallen sharply after touching an all-time high of $642.453 billion on September 3, 2021.

All components of the forex reserves declined during the week under review.

India's foreign currency assets, which are the biggest component of the forex reserves, dipped by $2.835 billion to $533.933 billion during the week ended April 22.

Expressed in US dollar terms, the foreign currency assets include the effect of appreciation or depreciation of non-dollar currencies like Euro, UK's Pound Sterling and Japanese Yen held in the foreign exchange reserves.

The value of gold reserves fell by $377 million to $42.768 billion during the week under review.

The value of India's Special Drawing Rights (SDRs) with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) fell by $33 million to $18.662 billion.

India's reserve position in the IMF dropped by $26 million to $5.060 billion during the week ended April 22, the RBI data showed.