Forex reserves down by USD 580 mn to USD 295.7 bn

The foreign exchange reserves of the country declined by USD 580 million to USD 295.67 billion during the week ended January 18 following decline in core currency assets, the Reserve Bank said today.

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The total reserves had stood at USD 296.252 billion in the previous reporting week. Foreign currency assets, a major component of the forex reserves, were down by USD 646.8 million to USD 261.629 billion for the week ended January 18, Reserve Bank's weekly statistical supplement said today.

Foreign currency assets expressed in US dollar terms include the effect of appreciation or depreciation of the non-US currencies, such as the euro, pound and yen, held in the reserves, the apex bank said. Gold reserves remained unchanged at USD 27.219 billion during the week, the apex bank said.

For the week under review, the special drawing rights (SDRs) were up by USD 2.3 million to USD 4.435 billion, while the country's reserve position with the IMF went up by USD 64.2 million to USD 2.388 billion, the apex bank data showed.