Forex reserves dip $12.6 million to $295.50 billion

India's foreign exchange reserves declined for the second consecutive week to USD 295.50 billion, down USD 12.6 million, in the week ended December 20, the Reserve Bank said today.

After five weeks of gains, courtesy special swap window opened by RBI, the reserves had declined 192.8 million to USD 295.51 billion in the previous reporting week.

Foreign currency assets (FCAs), which form a major part of the overall reserves, decreased by USD 94.7 million to USD 268.469 billion for the week under review, it said.

FCAs, expressed in dollar terms, include the effect of appreciation or depreciation of the non-US currencies such as the euro, pound and yen, held in reserves.

During the week, the gold reserves were unchanged at USD 20.603 billion, the apex bank said.

The special drawing rights declined by USD 9.1 million to USD 4.431 billion, while there was a USD 91.2 million spike in India's reserve position with the IMF at USD 1.999 billion during the period, the RBI data showed.