India's foreign exchange reserves fall for fourth consecutive week, down $12.95 bn

Data from the Reserve Bank of India show that the country's foreign exchange reserves declined to $734.6 billion for the week ended Oct 2, a $12.95 billion drop and the fourth consecutive weekly decline. This follows an $18.3 billion fall in the prior week, the largest on record. The biggest component, foreign currency assets, shrank by $10.7 billion to $604.7 billion, reflecting both market movements and RBI interventions.

Gold reserves fell $2.3 billion to $106.4 billion, while special drawing rights edged up by $15 million. The RBI continues to use spot, forward and swap operations to stabilize the rupee as higher oil prices pressure the balance sheet.