India’s Forex reserve plunge by $2.64 bn

Mumbai, May 25 (IANS) India's foreign exchange (Forex) reserves plunged by $2.64 billion as on May 18, official data showed on Friday.

According to the Reserve Bank of India's (RBI) weekly statistical supplement, the overall forex reserves declined to $415.05 billion from $417.70 billion reported for the week ended May 11.

India's forex reserves comprise of foreign currency assets (FCAs), gold reserves, special drawing rights (SDRs) and the RBI's position with the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

Segment-wise, FCAs -- the largest component of the Forex reserves -- decreased by $2.63 billion to $389.82 billion during the week under review.

Besides the US dollar, FCAs consist of nearly 20-30 per cent of major global currencies. It also includes investments in US Treasury bonds, bonds of other selected governments and deposits with foreign central and commercial banks.

However, the value of the country's gold reserves increased by $13 million to $21.70 billion.

The SDRs' value inched down by $14.2 million to $1.50 billion, while the country's reserve position with the IMF also slipped by $14.2 million to $2.03 billion.