India's forex reserves fall $2.6 billion to $717 billion as of October 30

India's foreign exchange reserves declined by $2.6 billion to $717 billion in the week ended October 30, according to data released by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on Friday.

The reserves touched an all-time high of $785.7 billion in the week ended September 4, following substantial foreign currency inflows through a special concessional swap scheme for diaspora deposits.

Under the scheme, banks raised a record nearly $133 billion. However, the country's forex reserves have been on a declining trajectory since then.


Market experts attribute the sustained drawdown partly to the deployment of funds raised through Foreign Currency Non-Resident (Bank) or FCNR(B) deposits, as well as the RBI's interventions in the foreign exchange market to support the rupee through dollar sales.

Foreign currency assets, the largest component of India's forex reserves, fell by $2.08 billion to $591.11 billion in the week ended October 30, the RBI data showed. These assets include the effects of appreciation or depreciation of non-US currencies, including the euro, pound and yen, held in the reserves.

The value of gold reserves also declined by $559 million to $102.5 billion during the week.

Meanwhile, Special Drawing Rights (SDRs) fell by $47 million to $18.5 billion, while India's reserve position with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) increased by $3 million to $4.79 billion.

In the previous week ended October 24, India's foreign exchange reserves had fallen by $1.269 billion to $719.7 billion.