India's forex reserves drop $4.9 billion to $685.7 billion as of May 16: RBI data shows

Reserve Bank of India (RBI) data released on Friday, 23 May 2025, showed that India's total foreign exchange (forex) reserves dropped to $685.7 billion as of 16 May 2025. This drop comes after the forex reserves hit a 7-month high in the first week of May 2025. 

India's total forex reserves witnessed a $4.9 billion fall when compared to the data released for the week ended 9 May, 2025. The total foreign exchange reserves were at $690.6 billion, according to the previous RBI data release.

The central bank data also highlighted that India's foreign currency asset reserves witnessed a $280 million jump to $581.65 billion as per the latest release, compared to the previous $581.37 billion levels.

RBI's foreign exchange reserves are stated in US dollars, and the foreign currency assets include the effect of appreciation or depreciation of non-US units like the pound, euro, and yen held in the foreign exchange reserves. 

According to an earlier report, the nation's forex reserves hit an all-time high level at $704.89 billion in September 2024. RBI, at times, uses its forex reserves to keep the volatility in the Indian currency (Indian Rupee) in check.

Any intervention from the central bank changes the foreign currencies held as reserves. As of 25 May 2025, the Indian Rupee stands at ₹85.17 against every US dollar, according to Morningstar data collected at 6:29 p.m. (UTC).

India's Gold Reserves

India's gold reserves with the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) were at $81.2 billion, a nearly 6 per cent drop of $5.12 billion from their previous level of $86.33 billion in early May 2025.

The central bank of any nation increases or reduces its gold reserves depending on many factors, including economic uncertainty and geopolitical tensions. Earlier, May data showed us a rise in India's gold reserves due to the looming threats of Trump tariffs and the conflict between India and Pakistan. 

Apart from gold reserves, two other aspects of holdings contribute to the nation's foreign exchange arsenal. Special Drawing Rights (SDRs) and the Reserve position in the International Monetary Fund (IMF) are the two additional holdings which the central banks keep to contribute to the nation's forex reserves.

According to the official data release, India's SDR holdings dropped $42 million to reach their current levels of $18.49 billion, compared to its previous level of $18.53 billion.

The Reserve position in the IMF also slid $3 million to its level of $4.371 billion, as of the 23 May 2025 data release, compared with $4.374 billion as per the previous RBI data release.