India’s forex kitty falls $7 billion to $709.76 billion

India’s foreign exchange reserves declined by $7.052 billion to $709.759 billion in the week ended March 13, according to data released by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on Friday.In the preceding reporting week, the country’s overall reserves had dropped by $11.683 billion to $716.81 billion. The reserves had earlier touched an all-time high of $725.727 billion in the week ended February 13 this year.Foreign currency assets (FCAs), the largest component of the reserves, fell by $7.678 billion to $555.568 billion during the reporting week, the central bank’s data showed.Expressed in dollar terms, FCAs reflect the impact of appreciation or depreciation of non-US currencies such as the euro, pound and yen that are part of the reserve holdings.Gold reserves, however, moved in the opposite direction, rising by $664 million to $130.681 billion, the RBI said.The Special Drawing Rights (SDRs) were lower by $23 million at $18.697 billion, as per the apex bank’s data.India’s reserve position with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) also declined by $15 million to $4.814 billion during the week under review, the data showed.