India's forex reserves drop $4.88 billion to $685.73 billion

India's forex reserves fell by USD 4.888 billion to USD 685.729 billion for the week ended May 16, according to the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on Friday, May 23. This came after a rise of USD 4.553 billion to USD 690.617 billion in the previous week.

The highest level of forex reserves was recorded in September 2024, reaching USD 704.885 billion.

The foreign currency assets, which make up a large part of the reserves, increased slightly by USD 279 million to USD 581.652 billion during the week. These assets are affected by the value changes of currencies like the euro, pound, and yen compared to the US dollar.

Gold reserves saw a significant drop of USD 5.121 billion to USD 81.217 billion after a sharp rise of USD 4.52 billion the week before.

The Special Drawing Rights (SDRs), which are international reserve assets managed by the IMF, decreased by USD 43 million to USD 18.49 billion.

India’s reserve position with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) also fell slightly by USD 3 million to USD 4.371 billion in the same week, the RBI data showed.