MUMBAI: India's forex reserves dropped USD 8.94 billion to USD 688.894 billion during the week ended May 15, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) said on Friday.
The overall reserves had jumped by USD 6.295 billion to USD 696.988 billion during the week ended May 8.
The kitty had expanded to an all-time high of USD 728.494 billion during the week ended February 27 this year before the onset of the Middle East conflict which led to several weeks of a drop as the rupee came under pressure and the RBI had to intervene in the forex market through dollar sales.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi has also made multiple public appeals starting May 11 to countrymen to conserve forex by cutting down on foreign travel, limiting fuel use and refraining from gold buys for a year.
For the week ended May 15, foreign currency assets, a major component of the reserves, decreased by USD 6.483 billion to USD 545.904 billion, the central bank's data showed.
Expressed in dollar terms, the foreign currency assets include effects of appreciation or depreciation of non-US units, such as the euro, pound, and yen, held in the foreign exchange reserves.
Value of gold reserves also declined USD 1.536 billion to USD 119.317 billion during the week, the RBI said.
The special drawing rights (SDRs) were down by USD 49 million to USD 18.824 billion, the apex bank said.
India's reserve position with the IMF was also down by USD 25 million to USD 4.85 billion at the end of the reporting week, according to the apex bank's data.
