MUMBAI: India's foreign exchange reserves fell to $532.66 billion in the week through September 30, their lowest level since July 2020, the Reserve Bank of India's (RBI) weekly statistical supplement showed on Friday.
The country's reserves declined for a ninth consecutive week. They were $537.52 billion at the end of the previous week ended September 23.
The rupee breached the key 82 per dollar level on Friday, having weakened for four straight weeks, with traders saying the RBI had likely intervened occasionally over the period to arrest the pace of currency's fall.
The reserves have been dipping as the central bank deploys the kitty to defend the rupee amid pressures caused majorly by global developments.
In October 2021, the country's forex kitty had reached an all-time high of $645 billion.
The drop in the reserves for the week ended September 30 was on account of a dip in the Foreign Currency Assets (FCAs), a major component of the overall reserves, according to the Weekly Statistical Supplement released by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on Friday.
The FCAs dropped by $4.406 billion to $472.807 billion during the reporting week, the apex bank said.
Expressed in dollar terms, the FCAs include the effect of appreciation or depreciation of non-US units like the euro, pound and yen held in the foreign exchange reserves.
The country's reserve position with the IMF was unchanged at $4.826 billion in the reporting week, the apex bank data showed.
