India's FX reserves dip for seventh straight week to hit over two-month low

India’s foreign exchange reserves declined by $1.27 billion in the week to October 23, reaching $719.75 billion, their lowest level in more than two months. Business Recorder reported that this was the seventh consecutive weekly drop, with the reduction in the value of the Reserve Bank of India’s gold holdings contributing to the fall.

Gold reserves were valued at $103.1 billion, down $2.6 billion from a week earlier, while foreign currency assets increased by $1.3 billion to $593.2 billion. The RBI has been supplying dollars to three state-run oil marketers and intervening in currency markets to support the rupee; reserves have fallen from a late-August peak of $785.7 billion. These movements include the effects of currency valuations and the central bank’s other reserve operations.