India's forex reserves dropped to $666.933 billion for the week ending June 26, 2026, undoing the gain in the previous week, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) said in its latest data release.
Key Highlights
- India's forex reserves declined by $5.65 billion as gold valuations and foreign currency assets weakened significantly.
- RBI data showed reserves fell to $666.93 billion after last week's gains amid continued market volatility.
The nation's reserve position was once again stretched in the week just ended, when it recorded a $963 million rise. The drop was largely due to a $5.394 billion decrease in gold reserves, valued at $102.536 billion. Foreign currency assets (FCA) or the biggest part of India's forex reserves, declined by $150 million to $541.067 billion. The value of International Monetary Fund's (IMF) Special Drawing Rights (SDRs) also fell by $89 million to $18.558 billion, while India's reserve position with the IMF decreased by $21 million to $4.772 billion.
For the time being, India's forex reserves dipped to a fresh high of $728.494 billion at the end of February, when there were concerns about geopolitical tensions in West Asia and global financial markets became volatile. The war led to periodic interventions in forex market by the RBI to check the volatility in the rupee which led to fluctuations in the level of reserves over the past few months.
Also Read: India's Forex Reserves Rise to $672.59 Bn as Gold Holdings Surge
Foreign currency assets fell marginally in the week but are still vulnerable to the movement of the major reserve currencies including the euro, pound sterling and Japanese yen vis-à-vis the dollar. The rapid drop in gold stocks was also due to international gold prices and adjustments in the value of gold stocks.
India's external position is expected to be supported by policy measures taken by the RBI to draw foreign currency inflows, though as long as geopolitical uncertainties and global currency movements continue, there could be some volatility in India's external reserves levels in the near term, despite the weekly decline.
