Forex reserves slide to 10-month low as rupee hits new law of 85.97
New Indian ExpressAmid the rapidly weakening rupee, the Reserve Bank continued to sell dollars to prevent it from falling to the psychologically sensitive 86-mark. The reserves fell to a 10-month low of $634.59 billion for the week ending January 3, losing $5.7 billion from the previous week, data from the Reserve Bank showed on Friday. The reserves also lost due to the valuation changes in foreign currency assets, which are the biggest components of the overall reserves and are caused by the central bank's intervention in the forex market as well as the appreciation or depreciation of foreign assets held in the reserves. The magnitude of the RBI's forex intervention since October has been "substantial" and is resulting in "adverse effects", such as tighter banking system liquidity and higher short-term rates at a time of weakening growth, Nomura analysts said, adding this, in turn, is leading to more capital outflows and possibly "dollar hoarding" in anticipation of further depreciation in the rupee. Traders said the rupee hit record low due to persistent FII outflows from equities, strong dollar demand from oil importers after a surge in crude prices, and rising US treasury yields.