Forex reserves down $1.86 b

The foreign exchange reserves fell by $1.86 billion to $290.8 billion for the week-ended February 8, due to a fall in foreign currency assets. In the previous week, the reserves had surged by $4.36 billion to $292.67 billion.

Foreign currency assets dropped by $1.86 billion to $281 billion in the week ended February 8.

“There were FII-related dollar outflows from the forex market during this week. The dollar shortage in the system may have led to a fall in the forex kitty,” said a foreign exchange dealer at a private bank.

There could have also been a slight revaluation effect as the euro and the pound depreciated against the dollar. The euro fell from $1.48 to $1.44 and the pound also depreciated from $1.97 to $1.94 during the week under consideration.

Foreign currency assets, as expressed in dollars, include the effect of appreciation or depreciation in non-US currencies (euro, sterling and yen) held in reserves.

The gold reserves and SDRs remained unchanged at $9.19 billion and $9 million, respectively. The country’s reserve position in IMF fell by $6 million to $417 million