India's foreign exchange (FOREX) reserves fell by USD 7.541 billion in the week ended July 15 to USD 572.712 billion, as the Reserve Bank continued to intervene in the market to keep the rupee from falling further.
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) said on Friday that reserves fell by USD 8.062 billion to USD 580.252 billion in the previous week ending July 8. The rupee slipped 5 paise to settle at 79.90 against the US dollar on Friday.
The reduction in reserves during the reporting week ending July 15 was due to a decline in Foreign Currency Assets (FCAs), a major component of overall reserves, as well as gold reserves, RBI said.
Foreign Currency Assets declined by USD 6.527 billion in the reporting week to USD 511.562 billion, according to the RBI's Weekly Statistical Supplement. FCAs are expressed in dollars and reflect the effect of non-US currency appreciation or depreciation in foreign exchange reserves such as the euro, pound, and yen. In the reporting week, gold reserves fell by USD 830 million to USD 38.356 billion. The RBI reported that its Special Drawing Rights (SDRs) with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) fell by USD 155 million to USD 17.857 billion. In the reporting week, the country's reserve position with the IMF fell by USD 29 million to USD 4.937 billion.
Earlier in the day, RBI Governor Shaktikanta Das stated that there was a genuine shortfall of foreign exchange supply in the market relative to demand due to import and debt servicing obligations, as well as portfolio outflows.
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