India's forex reserves fall by $12.95 billion to $734.61 billion in week ended Oct 2

Mumbai: India's foreign exchange reserves fell sharply by $12.95 billion to $734.61 billion in the week ended October 2, primarily due to a decline in foreign currency assets and gold reserves, according to data released by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on Friday.

The RBI's Weekly Statistical Supplement showed that the country's total foreign exchange reserves declined by $12.952 billion during the week.

Foreign currency assets, the largest component of the reserves, fell by $10.664 billion to $604.747 billion, accounting for the bulk of the weekly decline.

Gold reserves also decreased by $2.288 billion to $106.413 billion during the reporting week.

The decline in both components contributed to the sharp reduction in the country's overall foreign exchange reserves.

Meanwhile, Special Drawing Rights (SDRs) increased marginally by $15 million to $18.656 billion.

India's reserve position with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) declined by $15 million to $4.789 billion.

Despite the latest weekly decline, India's foreign exchange reserves remained $43.498 billion higher than their level at the end of March 2026, according to the RBI data.

On a year-on-year basis, the country's total reserves were higher by $34.645 billion.

Foreign exchange reserves are an important buffer against external economic shocks and help the RBI manage volatility in the foreign exchange market.

The latest weekly decline comes amid continued attention to movements in the rupee and global financial markets, with changes in foreign currency assets and gold reserves weighing on the overall reserve position.