Forex reserves plunge a steep $20.32 bn to $294.34 bn YTD

MUMBAI: The country's foreign exchange reserves plunged a whopping $20.324 billion to $294.34 billion year-on-year in the week to November 2, reflecting the steep fall in the rupee and the market intervention by the apex bank during the period..

On a weekly basis, the forex reserves fell by $950.3 million to $294.34 billion for the week ended November 2, according to the latest Reserve Bank data.

Accordingly, the foreign currency assets, a major component of the forex reserves, were down by a huge $1,005.8 million to $259.459 billion for the week ended November 2, the Reserve Bank said.

Foreign currency assets expressed in US dollar terms include the effect of appreciation or depreciation of the non-US currencies, such as the euro, pound and yen, held in the reserves, the apex bank said.

However, the gold reserves rose by $56.4 million to $28.189 billion during the reporting period, the apex bank said.

For the week under review, the special drawing rights (SDRs) were down by $4.1 million to $4.428 billion, and the country's reserve position with the IMF was also down by $3.2 million to to $2.263 billion, the apex bank data showed.