India's forex reserves drop to $293 bn

India's foreign exchange reserves declined by $2.599 billion to $293.11 billion in the week ended January 3 on account of a fall in foreign currency assets, RBI said.

The reserves had risen by $204.9 million to $295.71 billion in the previous reporting week.

Foreign currency assets (FCAs), which form a major part of the overall reserves, dipped $1.681 billion to $266.953 billion in the week under review, the Reserve Bank said.

FCAs, expressed in dollar terms, include the effect of appreciation or depreciation of the non-US currencies such as the euro, pound and yen, held in reserves.

During the week under review, the gold reserves fell by $878.6 milion to $19.724 billion.

The special drawing rights fell by $27.8 million to $4.434 billion, while India's reserve position with the IMF declined $12.5 million to $1.997 billion.