India's foreign exchange reserves down by $778 million to $578.5 billion

The country's foreign exchange reserves declined by USD 778 million to USD 578.568 billion in the week to December 11, RBI data showed on Friday.

In the previous week, the reserves had touched a lifetime high of USD 579.346 billion after increasing by USD 4.525 billion.

In the reporting week, the reserves declined due to a fall in foreign currency assets (FCAs), a major component of the overall reserves.

FCAs dropped by USD 1.042 billion to USD 536.344 billion, as per the weekly data by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI).      

Expressed in dollar terms, the foreign currency assets include the effect of appreciation or depreciation of non-US units like the euro, pound and yen held in the forex reserves.     

The gold reserves increased by USD 284 million in the reporting week to USD 36.012 billion, the data showed.        

The special drawing rights (SDRs) with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) dipped by USD 3 million to USD 1.503 billion.   

The country's reserve position with the IMF also fell by USD 16 million to USD 4.709 billion.