India's Forex Reserves Drop By $1.27 Billion To $561.6 Billion

India's forex reserves declined $1.27 billion to $561.6 billion for the week ended Jan. 6.

The overall reserves had increased $44 million to $562.9 billion in the previous reporting week after two consecutive weeks of the slide, according to the Reserve Bank data released on Friday.

In October 2021, the country's foreign exchange kitty reached an all-time high of $645 billion. The reserves had been declining as the central bank deployed the reserves to defend the rupee amid pressures caused by global developments.

Foreign currency assets, a major component of the overall reserves, dropped by $1.75 billion to $496.4 billion during the week to Jan. 6, 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-U.S. units like the euro, pound and yen held in the foreign exchange reserves.

Gold reserves increased by $461 million to $41.8 billion, it said. The Special Drawing Rights were up by $35 million to $18.2 billion, the apex bank said.

The country's reserve position with the International Monetary Fund was down by $18 million to $5.1 billion in the reporting week, the data showed.