Rupee closed today at 81.9650. (file)
Mumbai:
Foreign exchange reserves fell for the fourth consecutive week to a three-month low of $560.94 billion during the week ended February 24, the Reserve Bank of India’s (RBI) statistical supplement showed on Friday.
The data showed reserves had decreased by $330 million at the end of last week, after a total decline of $15.5 billion in the previous three weeks. The reserves stood at $561.27 billion in the week ended February 17.
The central bank intervenes in the spot and futures markets to prevent sharp movements in the exchange rate of the rupee against the dollar. The RBI has said in the past that changes in reserves also result from valuation gains or losses.
Forex market participants told Reuters that the RBI was selling the dollar to prevent the rupee from falling below 83 per dollar.
Last week, the rupee edged higher against the dollar, outperforming Asian peers, and traded in a thin range of 82.6100 to 82.8525.
The rupee closed at 81.9650 on Friday, registering its biggest weekly gain in nearly two months.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
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