India's Forex Reserves Fall to $719.8 Billion for Seventh Consecutive Week

Foreign exchange reserves of India declined to $719.8 billion from $721.1 billion on October 23 2026. This decline was mainly because of a rise in foreign currency assets by $2.7 billion and a decline in gold reserves worth $1.4 billion. This comes at a time when India’s foreign exchange reserves were at a record high level of $785.7 billion in September 2026.

India Foreign Reserves Dip To $719.8 Billion

India’s foreign exchange reserves dipped around $1.3 billion to $719.8 billion in the week ended October 23, 2026.

This was mainly due to a fall in gold reserves. The gold reserves fell by $2.7 billion as there were valuation losses on account of lower international gold prices.

Gold prices fell by around 4% to $4,165.58 per ounce.

This decline marks the 7th consecutive week that India’s foreign exchange reserves have fallen.

India Foreign Exchange Reserve Movement

India’s foreign exchange reserves moved as follows:

Component	Change
Total Foreign Exchange Reserves	-$1.3 billion
Foreign Currency Assets	+$1.4 billion
Gold Reserves	-$2.7 billion

Foreign currency assets make up the biggest part of India’s foreign exchange reserves. This means that they will be impacted by the movement in major international currencies, interest payments and value changes on foreign securities and deposits.

Gold reserves will be impacted by changes in international gold prices and exchange rates. If gold prices fall it can cause the value of gold in USD to fall.

Why Have India’s Foreign Exchange Reserves Fallen?

India’s foreign exchange reserves hit a record high of $785.7 billion in the week which was ended September 4, 2026. They subsequently declined by approximately $66 billion over the next seven weeks.

There were two main reasons for the change.

A fall in gold prices: Gold prices fell around 4% in the reporting week. This meant there were lower valuations on India’s gold reserves.
RBI intervention: The Reserve Bank of India reportedly sold USD in the foreign exchange markets to prevent excessive volatility. This can lead to a decrease in foreign currency reserves.

Forex reserves can move due to valuation changes in different currency assets, returns on investments and other external activities.