As of Feb 3, Forex dips by $1.494 bn to $575.267 bn: RBI

NEW DELHI: India’s foreign exchange reserves dropped by $1.494 billion to reach $575.267 billion as of February 3, snapping a three-week rising trend, RBI data showed on Friday.

In the previous reporting week, the overall reserves had jumped by $3.03 billion to $576.76 billion.

In October 2021, the country’s forex kitty had reached an all-time 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.

For the week ended February 3, the foreign currency assets, a major component of the reserves, decreased by $1.323 billion to $507.695 billion, according to the Weekly Statistical Supplement released by the RBI.

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.

After rising for multiple weeks, gold reserves decreased by $246 million to $43.781 billion, the RBI said.

The Special Drawing Rights (SDRs) were up by $66 million to $18.544 billion. The country’s reserve position with the IMF climbed $9 million to $5.247 billion in the reporting week, the apex bank data showed.