The country’s foreign-exchange reserves dropped for a fifth week, central bank data showed.
Total reserves dropped $3.8 billion to $296.2 billion for the week ended August 15, the Reserve Bank of India said in its statistical weekly supplement in Mumbai.
Foreign-currency assets declined $3.8 billion to $286 billion during the week.
Gold reserves held at $9.74 billion, while reserves with the International Monetary Fund fell $8 million to $496 million. The nation’s special drawing rights with the International Monetary Fund decreased $7 million to $4 million.
The change in foreign-currency assets is partly because of changes in the value of the dollar against the euro, the yen and other currencies during the period, the central bank said.
India’s foreign-exchange reserves, including overseas currencies, gold and special drawing rights with the International Monetary Fund, have increased $69.8 billion in the past year, the central bank said.
Meanwhile, money supply in India grew 19.6% in the two weeks ended August 1 from a year earlier, compared with 20% in the prior two weeks, central bank data said. M3, which mainly comprises currency in public circulation, bank deposits and money invested in other savings plans, stood at Rs 41,79,900 crore on August 1, RBI said.
The measure rose at an average rate of 21%, since the current fiscal year began April 1. That is more than the central bank’s target of 16.5-17% for the fiscal year ending March.
At the same time, outstanding advances stood at Rs 24,27,592 crore, for the month ended August 1, central bank data showed.
Credit rose 25.8%, or by Rs 4, 98,190 crore, in the year through August 1. Total bank deposits increased 20.9%, or by Rs 5,79,561 crore, to Rs 33,49,390 crore.
