India's Forex Reserves Decline by $18.3 Billion, Biggest Weekly Fall on Record, Reveals RBI Data

Earlier, the foreign exchange reserves had fallen by $14.88 billion to $765.9 billion for the week of September 18, which was the biggest fall since the week of November 15, 2024.

The Wire Staff

Earlier, the foreign exchange reserves had fallen by $14.88 billion to $765.9 billion for the week of September 18, which was the biggest fall since the week of November 15, 2024.

india s forex reserves decline by 18 3 billion biggest weekly fall on record reveals rbi data

Dollar and rupee currency notes. Representative image. Photo: Avinash Kumar/Unsplash.

New Delhi: Data released by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on Friday (October 2) revealed that India’s foreign exchange reserves have further declined by $18.3 billion to $747.6 billion – the biggest weekly fall on record – during the week ended September 25, reported Business Standard.

The fall was driven by the decline in Foreign currency assets (FCAs) – the largest component of the reserves. The FCAs declined by $15.6 billion to $615.4 billion during the reported week.

Notably, FCAs, expressed in dollar terms, include the effect of appreciation or depreciation of non-US currencies including the euro, pound and yen held in the reserves.

The latest RBI data revealed that during the reported week, gold reserves too fell by $2.6 billion to $108.7 billion. Special drawing rights (SDRs) declined by $97 million to $18.6 billion and India's reserve position with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) decreased by $86 million to $4.8 billion.

Earlier, the foreign exchange reserves had fallen by $14.88 billion to $765.9 billion for the week of September 18, which was the biggest fall since the week of November 15, 2024.

The fall in forex reserves comes at a time when the rupee continues to be under pressure amid higher crude oil prices and US Treasury yields, leading to the RBI to intervene in the foreign exchange market.

Rupee drops to weakest level in two months

The rupee on Thursday (October 1) dropped to its weakest level in two months with a decrease of 0.5% and closing at 96.3150 per dollar, reported Reuters. This was the sharpest single-day fall in more than ‌two months after the currency breached the key psychological barrier of 96 even as dollar sales by ‌state-run banks limited its fall.

Lately, the RBI has been on a dollar selling spree to support the rupee.

The rupee is Asia’s worst-performing currency and had been declining well before the US-Israel war on Iran, which has further led to its downfall.

Experts have warned that the rupee could further weaken to 100 per US dollar or beyond if the ongoing crisis in West Asia persists.

This article went live on October third, two thousand twenty six, at fifteen minutes past twelve at noon.

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