The country’s foreign exchange reserves declined by USD 878 million to stand at USD 632.736 billion in the week ended January 7, RBI data showed on Friday. In the previous week ended December 31, the reserves had dropped by USD 1.466 billion to USD 633.614 billion. It had touched a lifetime high of USD 642.453 billion in the week ended September 3, 2021.

During the reporting week ended January 7, the decline in the forex kitty was mainly due to a fall in gold reserves and foreign currency assets (FCA), a major component of the overall reserves, as per weekly data by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI).

FCAs decreased by USD 497 million to USD 569.392 billion in the reporting week.

Expressed in dollar terms, the foreign currency assets include the effect of appreciation or depreciation of non-US units like the euro, pound and yen held in the foreign exchange reserves.

Gold reserves declined by USD 360 million to USD 39.044 billion, according to the data.

The special drawing rights (SDRs) with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) fell by USD 16 million to USD 19.098 billion.

The country’s reserve position with the IMF dipped by USD 5 million to USD 5.202 billion in the reporting week, the data showed.