Forex watch: India’s reserves fall $1 billion to $697.93 billion this week; gold and SDR values decline

India’s foreign exchange reserves slipped by $1.01 billion to $697.93 billion in the week ended June 20, according to the Reserve Bank of India (RBI)’s latest data released on Friday.The decline reverses the previous week’s trend, when reserves had jumped by $2.29 billion to reach $698.95 billion. India’s reserves had hit an all-time high of $704.89 billion in September 2024, PTI reported.The weekly dip was largely led by a drop in foreign currency assets and gold reserves, the data showed.Foreign currency assets — the largest component of the forex reserves — fell by $357 million to $589.06 billion. These assets are expressed in dollar terms and include the impact of movement in non-US currencies such as the euro, pound and yen held in the reserve basket.Gold reserves also slipped by $573 million during the week to $85.74 billion.Among other components, the Special Drawing Rights (SDRs) declined by $85 million to $18.67 billion, while India’s reserve position with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) edged down by $1 million to $4.45 billion.The RBI publishes the country’s foreign exchange reserves data every week through its statistical supplement, offering a snapshot of the health of India’s external sector and import cover.