The Hindu Business Line : Forex reserves down $1.22 b at $140.9 b

AFTER rising for five weeks in a row, the country's forex reserves fell by $1.223 billion for the week ended March 25, taking the total reserves to $140.907 billion, as per the Reserve Bank of India's weekly statistical supplement (WSS).

In the previous week ending March 18, forex reserves rose by $1.7 billion, taking the total reserves to $142.13 billion.

The decline in foreign exchange reserves was attributed to a dip in FII inflows and a fall in the euro's value, which led to revaluation of the currency basket, said dealers.

The euro fell from levels of $1.30/31 to $1.28/29 during that week, said a dealer with a private bank. Part of the forex reserves is held in euro, which is reflected in the dip in the reserves, he said.

A fall in the FII inflows is also a reason for the negative forex reserves. For the week ended March 25, FII inflow was $61.7 million, with outflows recorded on two days, as per figures from SEBI's Web site. According to WSS, the foreign currency assets also fell by $1.202 billion to reach $135.089 billion. Gold reserves and SDRs remained unchanged at $4.376 billion and $5 million, respectively.

The country's reserve tranche position in the IMF also fell by $21 million to touch $1.437 billion.

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