Overview
- Reserves fell by $9.809 billion to $686.801 billion in the week ended January 2, according to RBI data.
- Foreign currency assets declined by $7.622 billion to $551.990 billion, while gold holdings fell by $2.058 billion to $111.262 billion.
- Economists and market participants said RBI dollar sales to smooth volatility accounted for roughly $7 billion of the drop, with the rest tied to valuation losses including weaker gold prices.
- The rupee traded around 90.2 per dollar, closing at 90.21 on Tuesday after a brief one‑paisa rise on Monday, as higher crude, a firm dollar and continued foreign outflows weighed on sentiment.
- Foreign investors sold Indian equities in large sums in recent sessions, while reserves remain sizeable after builds in 2023–25 and had been near a record high in 2024.