New Delhi, 06 November (H.S.): India’s foreign exchange reserves continued their downward trend, declining by $2.69 billion to $717.06 billion in the week ended October 30.

According to data released by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on Friday, the country’s foreign exchange reserves stood at $717.06 billion during the week, down $2.69 billion from the previous week. In the preceding week, the reserves had declined by $1.27 billion to $719.75 billion.

The data showed that foreign currency assets, the largest component of the country’s foreign exchange reserves, fell by $2.09 billion to $591.12 billion in the week ended October 30. The value of gold reserves also declined by $559 million to $102.59 billion during the period, the RBI said.

Meanwhile, Special Drawing Rights (SDRs) decreased by $47 million to $18.56 billion. In contrast, India’s reserve position with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) increased by $3 million to $4.79 billion, according to the central bank.

It may be recalled that India’s foreign exchange reserves had touched an all-time high of $785.71 billion in the week ended September 4, following substantial foreign currency inflows under a special concessional swap scheme linked to deposits by Non-Resident Indians (NRIs).

Hindusthan Samachar / Jun Sarkar