India's forex reserves plunge by $5.34 bn

Mumbai, March 20 (IANS) India's foreign exchange reserves plunged by $5.34 billion during the week ended March 13.According to the RBI's weekly statistical supplement, the overall forex reserves, which are already at a record high, decreased to $481.89 billion from $487.23 billion reported for the week ended March 6.Analysts cited the RBI's intervention to curb the slide in rupee value as a major cause for the depletion.India's forex reserves comprise foreign currency assets (FCAs), gold reserves, special drawing rights (SDRs) and India's reserve position with the International Monetary Fund (IMF).On a weekly basis, FCAs, the largest component of the forex reserves, fell by $3.77 billion to $447.35 billion.Similarly, the value of the country's gold reserves declined by $1.53 billion to $29.46 billion.The SDR value dipped by $38 million to $3.61 billion, whereas the country's reserve position with the IMF inched up by $2 million to $1.44 billion.
--IANS rv/vd