India's foreign exchange reserves have declined for three consecutive weeks. According to the data released by the country's central bank, foreign exchange reserves decreased from 8.4 billion to 644.39 billion dollars in the week ending December 20. This is the lowest in more than seven months.
This Friday, the Indian media The Business Standard reported this news.
Earlier, reserves fell by $1.98 billion to $652.87 billion in the week ended December 13.
India ranks fourth in foreign exchange reserves in the world. That is, India's position is after China, Japan and Switzerland.
On the other hand, the Indian rupee continues to depreciate against the US dollar. Last Thursday (December 26), the rupee ended trading at a record low. Last week, the rupee depreciated by 0.2 percent to a low of 85.10 rupees against the US dollar.
Changes in foreign exchange reserves are mainly caused by central bank intervention in the foreign exchange market and increase or decrease in the value of foreign assets held in reserve. The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) intervenes on both sides to prevent unexpected fluctuations in the rupee market.
Besides, India's GDP growth slowed to 5.4 percent in the July-September quarter, the lowest in nearly two years. In the same period last year, the country's growth was 8.1 percent. Growth has slowed mainly due to slow pace of manufacturing sector.
