Forex kitty drops to USD 698 bln; value of gold held by India crosses USD 100 bln

India's forex reserves dropped by USD 2.176 billion to USD 697.784 billion during the week ended October 10, according to the Reserve Bank data released on Friday.

In the previous reporting week, the overall kitty had decreased by USD 276 million to USD 699.96 billion.

For the week ended October 10, foreign currency assets, a major component of the reserves, decreased by USD 5.605 billion to USD 572.103 billion, the data showed.

Expressed in dollar terms, the foreign currency assets include the effect of appreciation or depreciation of non-US units like the euro, pound and yen held in the foreign exchange reserves.

Value of the gold reserves jumped by USD 3.595 billion to USD 102.365 billion during the week, the RBI said.

The Special Drawing Rights (SDRs) were down by USD 130 million to USD 18.684 billion, the apex bank data said.

India's reserve position with the IMF was also down by USD 36 million at USD 4.632 billion in the reporting week, it showed.