India's foreign exchange reserves decreased by a total of $1.24 billion in the week ending May 30, 2025. According to the latest data from the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), foreign currency assets (FCA) declined by $1.95 billion during this period, constituting the primary reason for the overall reduction.
Business News: India's foreign exchange reserves fell by a total of $1.24 billion in the week ending May 30, 2025. The main reason for this decline was a drop of $1.95 billion in foreign currency assets. However, gold reserves increased during this period, partially offsetting the decline. According to RBI data, India's total foreign exchange reserves stood at $691.485 billion as of May 30th.
This is lower than the previous week, when the reserves increased by $6.992 billion on May 23rd. It's also important to note that India's foreign exchange reserves reached a record high of $704.885 billion on September 27, 2024. Since then, the reserves have been gradually decreasing.
The Bottom Line:
Foreign exchange reserves are crucial for a country's economic strength and international trade. A decline in reserves indicates the country's need for foreign currency to stabilize its currency or conduct international transactions. While India's reserves have decreased slightly, they remain at a high level. In contrast, Pakistan's situation appears more precarious.
Decline in Foreign Currency Assets
A significant component of foreign exchange reserves, Foreign Currency Assets (FCA), also experienced a substantial drop in the week ending May 30th. FCA decreased by $1.952 billion, resulting in a total value of $584.215 billion. FCA includes non-US currencies such as the Euro, British Pound, and Japanese Yen, and is subject to fluctuations in exchange rates. This contrasts with the previous week's increase of $4.516 billion in FCA.
Increase in Gold Reserves
India's gold reserves increased during this period. The gold reserves rose by $723 million in the week ending May 30th, bringing the total gold reserves to $84.305 billion. This follows an increase of $4.588 billion in gold reserves the previous week. Special Drawing Rights (SDR) saw a slight decrease. The SDRs decreased by $2 million last week, dropping to $18.569 billion.
Similarly, India's reserves held with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) decreased by $6 million, now standing at $4.395 billion.
Pakistan's Foreign Exchange Situation
Neighboring Pakistan is currently grappling with a shortage of foreign exchange reserves. Recent India-Pakistan tensions have exacerbated the situation. Notably, Pakistan's official website is inaccessible in India, making it even more difficult to obtain information about Pakistan's economic condition.
Pakistan has received some credit lines from the IMF, but its current foreign exchange reserve situation remains unclear due to the inaccessibility of the State Bank of Pakistan's website in India. On April 25, 2025, Pakistan's foreign exchange reserves were recorded at $15.251 billion.
