India''s forex reserves declines USD 3.32-bn to USD 294.01-bn

Mumbai, Jan 14 (PTI) The country''s foreign exchangereserves fell by USD 3.32-billion to USD 294.01-billion on theback of a heavy dip in foreign currency assets.

The country''s forex reserves had gained over USD 2.3-billion to reach USD 297.334-billion in the previous reportingweek.

Foreign currency assets, a major component of the forexkitty, fell sharply to USD 264.56-billion, down USD3.254-billion for the week ended January 7, the Reserve Banksaid in its weekly data.

Foreign currency assets expressed in US dollar termsinclude the effect of appreciation or depreciation of thenon-US currencies, such as the euro, pound and yen, held inthe reserves, the Apex bank said.

The country''s gold reserves remained unchanged at USD22.47-billion while both special drawing rights (SDRs) andreserve position in the IMF slipped marginally.

The SDRs were down USD 50-million to USD 5.028-billionwhile India''s reserve position in the IMF declined by USD 19-million to USD 1.953-billion, the RBI data showed.