India s Forex reserve plunges by $2.49 bn

Mumbai April 27 (IANS) India s foreign exchange (Forex) reserves plunged by $2.49 billion as on April 20 official data showed on Friday.

According to the Reserve Bank of India s (RBI) weekly statistical supplement the overall forex reserves declined to $423.58 billion from $426.08 billion reported for the week ended April 13.

India s forex reserves comprise of foreign currency assets (FCAs) gold reserves special drawing rights (SDRs) and the RBI s position with the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

Segment-wise FCAs -- the largest component of the Forex reserves -- decreased by $2.49 billion to $398.48 billion during the week under review.

Besides the US dollar FCAs consist of nearly 20-30 per cent of major global currencies. It also includes investments in US Treasury bonds bonds of other selected governments and deposits with foreign central and commercial banks.

However the country s gold reserves value remained stagnant at $21.48 billion.

The SDRs value inched down by $3 million to $1.53 billion while the country s reserve position with the IMF slipped by $4 million to $2.07 billion.

--IANS
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