India's forex kitty drops USD 1.49 bn to USD 575.27 bn

Mumbai: India's foreign exchange reserves dropped by USD 1.494 billion to reach USD 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 USD 3.03 billion to USD 576.76 billion.

In October 2021, the country's forex kitty had reached an all-time high of USD 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 USD 1.323 billion to USD 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 USD 246 million to USD 43.781 billion, the RBI said.

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