India’s forex reserves fall $2.69 billion to $717.06 billion, second weekly drop; gold holdings slip again

India’s forex reserves fell by $2.69 billion in the week to Friday, 30 October, to $717.06 billion, according to the Reserve Bank of India’s weekly statistical supplement released on Friday, 6 November. It was the second weekly decline in a row: in the week to 23 October, the reserves had dropped $1.27 billion to $719.75 billion.

Most of the latest fall came from foreign currency assets, the largest part of the reserves, which declined $2.09 billion to $591.12 billion. Gold holdings lost $559 million in value to $102.59 billion, after a $2.65 billion fall the previous week. Special drawing rights eased $47 million to $18.56 billion, while India’s reserve position with the IMF edged up $3 million to $4.79 billion.

The longer view is still higher. Total reserves are $25.95 billion above their end-March 2026 level and $27.32 billion higher than a year ago. Gold is the exception: its value is $12.81 billion lower than at the end of March. In rupee terms, the reserves amount to Rs 68.09 lakh crore.

Bank credit outpaces deposits

The same release carries bank figures up to 15 October 2026. Outstanding bank credit stood at Rs 227.43 lakh crore, 18.2% higher than a year earlier, compared with growth of 11.6% at the same point in 2025. Aggregate deposits were Rs 278.76 lakh crore, up 16.7% against 9.5% a year ago. In the first half of October alone, deposits fell 1.8% and credit 1.1%; the RBI now measures a fortnight from the 15th to the last day of a month, a change made under the Banking Laws (Amendment) Act, 2025.

State governments will borrow next. The RBI has notified an auction of state government securities worth Rs 29,050 crore from 11 states and Jammu and Kashmir on Monday, 9 November, with Tamil Nadu raising the largest amount at Rs 9,500 crore. Andhra Pradesh and Telangana are not in the list. Competitive bids are due between 10:30 am and 11:30 am.