India's forex reserves drop by $3.017 billion to $542.021 billion

After touching a lifetime high in the previous week, the country's foreign exchange reserves declined by $3.017 billion to $542.021 billion in the week ended September 25, RBI data showed on Friday.

In the week ended September 18, the reserves had increased by $3.378 billion to a record $545.038 billion.

During the reporting week, the decline in the forex kitty was mainly due to a fall in foreign currency assets (FCAs), a major component of the overall reserves.

FCAs decreased by $1.523 billion to $499.941 billion, the central bank data showed.

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 foreign exchange reserves.

Gold reserves were down by $1.441 billion in the reporting week to $35.999 billion, the RBI data showed.

The special drawing rights with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) dipped by $10 million to $1.472 billion.

The country's reserve position with the IMF also fell by $43 million to $4.608 billion during the reporting week, as per the data.