Forex watch: India’s reserves drop $9.32 bn to $688.87 bn this week, led by decline in foreign currency assets & gold

India’s foreign exchange reserves fell by $9.322 billion to $688.871 billion for the week ended August 1, marking one of the steepest weekly declines in recent months, according to data released by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on Friday.In the previous reporting week, reserves had risen by $2.703 billion to touch $698.192 billion, PTI reported.The sharp drop was primarily due to a $7.319 billion fall in foreign currency assets, which make up the bulk of the reserves, bringing the total to $581.607 billion, the data showed.Expressed in dollar terms, the foreign currency assets reflect the impact of changes in the value of other reserve currencies such as the euro, pound, and yen.Gold reserves also declined significantly, down $1.706 billion to $83.998 billion for the week.The RBI added that Special Drawing Rights (SDRs) were lower by $237 million at $18.572 billion, while India’s reserve position with the IMF dipped by $59 million to $4.694 billion.