India forex reserves fall $6.7B to $717B
What's the story
India's foreign exchange reserves have witnessed a significant decline of $6.71 billion in the week ending February 6. The latest data from the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) shows that the country's forex kitty now stands at $717.06 billion, down from its all-time high of $723.774 billion last week. The drop is mainly attributed to a decrease in gold reserves while foreign currency assets saw an increase during this period.
Reserve breakdown
Foreign currency assets see increase
The RBI's data further reveals that India's foreign currency assets (FCA), the largest component of its forex reserves, stood at $570.053 billion for the week ending February 6. This marks an increase of $7.661 billion over the previous week. However, gold reserves took a hit during this period, falling to $123.476 billion from last week's figure by a whopping $14.208 billion according to RBI data.
Stability assurance
RBI assures forex reserves sufficient for imports
Despite the recent fluctuations in forex reserves, the RBI has assured that these reserves are enough to cover over 11 months of merchandise imports. The central bank also emphasized India's external sector remains resilient and is confident of meeting the country's external financing requirements comfortably. This comes after a recent monetary policy review meeting held earlier this month.
Reserve history
Forex reserves trend over the years
Looking back at the past few years, India has seen its forex reserves grow significantly. In 2023, the country added some $58 billion to its foreign exchange reserves. This was a stark contrast to a total decline of $71 billion in 2022. The data also shows that in 2024, reserves rose by just over $20 billion while they increased by about $56 billion in 2025.