Forex reserves hit lowest in 9 months after $4.67b plunge

India's foreign exchange reserves slumped by $4.67 billion (Dh17.13 billion) to $302.1 billion for the week ended on December 16, the lowest in nearly nine months due to a sharp drop in foreign currency assets, official data showed yesterday. The forex reserves kitty has registered a fall for the sixth of the last seven weeks. The reserves have declined by over $18 billion in the last seven weeks and are at their lowest level since March 2011. IMF reserves Foreign currency assets, the biggest component of the forex reserves, fell by $4.66 billion to $266.96 billion for the week ended on December 16, according to the weekly statistical supplement of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI). The RBI does not provide any reason for the change in the foreign currency assets. It says the assets expressed in US dollar terms include the effect of appreciation or depreciation of non-US currencies such as the pound sterling, euro and yen held in reserve. The value of special drawing rights (SDRs) fell by $54 million to $4.44 billion, while the value of gold reserves remained unchanged at $28.04 billion. However, India's reserves with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) rose by $47 million to $2.65 billion.