India's foreign exchange reserves fell by $1.713 billion, bringing the total to $651.997 billion for the week ending June 28, according to the Reserve Bank of India (RBI). The previous week saw a larger decline of $2.922 billion, bringing the reserves to $652.895 billion. The reserves had reached an all-time high of $655.817 billion on June 7 this year.
For the week ending June 28, foreign currency assets, which form a significant portion of the reserves, decreased by $1.252 billion to $572.881 billion, according to data released on Friday. The foreign currency assets are expressed in dollar terms and include the effects of appreciation or depreciation of non-US currencies such as the euro, pound, and yen held in the reserves.
Gold reserves dropped by $427 million to $56.528 billion during the week, the RBI reported. Additionally, the special drawing rights (SDRs) decreased by $35 million to $18.014 billion.
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Conversely, India's reserve position with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) saw a slight increase of $1 million, bringing it to $4.573 billion during the reporting week.
In other news, the RBI announced on Friday the launch of the quarterly "order books, inventories, and capacity utilisation" (OBICUS) survey for the manufacturing sector, which is crucial for monetary policy formulation. The RBI has conducted this survey quarterly since 2008.
The survey gathers quantitative data on new orders received during the reference quarter (April-June 2024), backlog of orders at the beginning of the quarter, pending orders at the end of the quarter, and total inventories, including finished goods, work-in-progress, and raw materials. It also collects item-wise production data in terms of quantity and value, comparing it to installed capacity and identifying reasons for changes in production or capacity.
"The survey provides valuable input for monetary policy formulation," the RBI stated.