During the reporting week ended September 17, 2021, the drop in the forex kitty was mainly on account of a decline in the foreign currency assets (FCAs), a major component of the overall reserves.
Changes in foreign currency assets, expressed in dollar terms, include the effect of appreciation or depreciation of other currencies held in RBI's reserves. Foreign exchange reserves include India's Reserve Tranche position in the International Monetary Fund.
At the interbank foreign exchange market, the local currency opened at 73.77. It touched an intra-day high of 73.61 and a low of 73.78 during the day.
Meanwhile, the dollar index, which gauges the greenback's strength against a basket of six currencies, rose 0.04 per cent to 93.12.
At the interbank forex market, the local unit opened flat at 73.85 against the greenback. During the session, the domestic unit witnessed an intra-day high of 73.61 and finally settled at 73.64.
At the interbank foreign exchange, the rupee opened at 73.70 against the dollar, then fell further to 73.72, registering a decline of 11 paise from the last close.
At the interbank forex market, the local unit opened flat at 73.74 against the greenback. During the session, the domestic unit witnessed an intra-day high of 73.58 and finally settled at 73.61.
At the interbank foreign exchange, the rupee opened at 73.82 against the dollar, registering a decline of 34 paise from the last close.
The broader gains in equities have not been able to lift the Indian rupee higher. Nifty has been a clear outperformer, rising by almost 13 per cent from June 1, 2021 to date. Antithetical to this, the rupee has depreciated 0.80 per cent.
FCAs dipped by $934 million to $578.879 billion in the reporting week. Expressed in dollar terms, FCAs include the effect of appreciation or depreciation of non-US units like the euro, pound and yen held in the foreign exchange reserves.