Overview
- RBI data show total reserves at $716.81 billion for the week ended March 6, down $11.68 billion from the prior week’s record $728.49 billion.
- Foreign currency assets fell $9.88 billion to $563.25 billion, gold declined $1.61 billion to $130.02 billion, SDRs slipped to $18.72 billion, and the IMF reserve tranche eased to $4.83 billion.
- IDFC FIRST Bank’s Gaura Sen Gupta estimates roughly $6.1 billion in RBI net dollar sales alongside about $5.4 billion in valuation losses, with liquidity sterilised via on‑screen bond purchases.
- Analysts point to a firmer US dollar, higher US bond yields, and Middle East tensions lifting oil prices as forces pressuring the rupee and weighing on reserve valuations.
- Despite the drop, India’s reserves remain substantial and are widely assessed to cover around 10 months of imports.