India's Forex Reserves Fall To $701.18 Billion After Six Straight Week Of Gains
The month of October has seen Rs 58,677 crore make its way out of Indian bonds and equities.
India's foreign exchange reserves decreased to $701.18 billion for the week ended Oct. 4, according to data from the Reserve Bank of India released on Friday. Last week, India's forex reserves reached a record high of $704.885 billion for the sixth consecutive session.
The country's forex kitty fell $3.7 billion over the previous reporting week.
Foreign investors have pumped in Rs 1.98 lakh crore into the country's debt and equity markets so far this year, according to data from the National Securities Depository Ltd.
The month of October has seen Rs 58,677 crore make its way out of Indian bonds and equities.
The rupee closed weaker against the US dollar on Friday, surpassing the psychological barrier of the 84 mark, as consistent selling of stocks on Dalal Street by global funds weighed on the Indian currency.
The domestic currency closed at a record low of 84.07 after hitting an all-time low at Rs 84.09 intraday, according to Bloomberg. The domestic current had closed at 83.98 against the greenback on Thursday.
For the week ended Oct. 4, foreign currency assets—a major component of the reserves—fell to $612.64 billion, according to the RBI data.
In dollar terms, foreign currency assets include the effect of the appreciation or depreciation of non-US units like the euro, pound, and yen held in foreign exchange reserves.
Gold reserves decreased to $65.75 billion during the week.
India remains the fourth-highest foreign exchange reserve holder in the world. The reserves are equivalent to around 11 months of imports projected for the current financial year and about 99% of total external debt outstanding at the end of March, the central bank said in its July bulletin.
