A major setback amid the rupee's decline! Foreign exchange reserves have plummeted. Find out the reason.

Forex Reserves: According to experts, this decline in foreign exchange reserves is mainly due to fluctuations in other major currencies against the dollar and intervention by the RBI.

India's foreign exchange reserves fell by a significant $6.92 billion to $695.35 billion in the week ended October 24, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) said on Friday. In the previous week, reserves had risen by $4.49 billion to reach an all-time high of $702.28 billion.

Where did the decline come from?

According to RBI data, foreign currency assets, the largest component of the foreign exchange reserves, declined by $3.86 billion to $566.54 billion. These assets include the impact of changes in the value of other currencies, such as the euro, pound, and yen, in addition to the dollar. Gold reserves declined by $3.01 billion to $105.536 billion during the week under review. Additionally, special drawing rights (SDRs) also declined by $58 million to $18.66 billion.

However, during the same period, India's reserves with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) increased by $6 million to $4.608 billion. According to experts, this decline in foreign exchange reserves was primarily due to fluctuations in other major currencies against the dollar and RBI intervention.

Rupee steady at 88.69 against dollar

The Indian rupee closed flat at 88.69 (provisional) against the US dollar on Friday after fluctuating slightly throughout the day. Weakness in domestic stock markets and a strengthening US currency were the main reasons for this. The rupee opened at 88.60 per dollar in the interbank foreign exchange market and touched a high of 88.59 and a low of 88.78 during the day. It finally settled at its previous close of 88.69 per dollar. The rupee had fallen 47 paise to close at the same level on Thursday.

The dollar index, which shows the dollar's position against six major currencies, rose slightly by 0.04 percent to reach 99.39. Domestic stock markets also remained weak - Sensex fell 465.75 points to 83,938.71 points and Nifty fell 155.75 points to close at 25,722.10 points. In the international market, Brent crude, the standard crude oil, fell by 0.68 percent to $64.56 per barrel. Meanwhile, according to stock market data, foreign institutional investors (FIIs) remained sellers on Thursday and made net sales of shares worth Rs 3,077.59 crore.