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India's foreign exchange reserves declined by USD 2.691 billion to USD 717.056 billion in the week ended October 30, according to the latest data released by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on Friday.
The decline was primarily driven by a fall in foreign currency assets and gold reserves, which together account for the bulk of the country's foreign exchange holdings. Foreign currency assets, the largest component of the reserves, declined by USD 2.088 billion to USD 591.118 billion during the week. Gold reserves fell by USD 559 million to USD 102.591 billion. Special Drawing Rights (SDRs), the reserve assets allocated by the International Monetary Fund (IMF), also declined by USD 47 million to USD 18.558 billion. However, India's reserve position with the IMF increased marginally by USD 3 million to USD 4.790 billion during the reporting week. In rupee terms, total foreign exchange reserves stood at Rs 68.09 lakh crore as of October 30, down Rs 24,777 crore from the previous week. Despite the weekly decline, India's foreign exchange reserves remained higher than their levels at the end of March 2026. The reserves increased by USD 25.949 billion from the end-March level, while the corresponding increase in rupee terms stood at Rs 2.55 lakh crore. On an annual basis, the country's foreign exchange reserves registered an increase of USD 27.324 billion, or Rs 6.86 lakh crore, indicating an overall expansion in the country's external reserve position over the past year. Among the components, foreign currency assets recorded an annual increase of USD 26.527 billion, while gold reserves rose by USD 865 million. SDR holdings, however, declined by USD 87 million over the same period, while the reserve position in the IMF increased by USD 18 million. The weekly contraction comes even as the overall reserve position remains above its end-March and year-ago levels. (ANI)
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