India's Forex Reserves Fall to $717 Billion as RBI Supports Rupee

A $68.65 billion retreat from September's peak

India's foreign exchange reserves fell by $2.69 billion to $717.06 billion in the week ended October 30, 2026, according to Reserve Bank of India figures released on November 6. The stockpile has declined by $68.65 billion since reaching a record $785.71 billion on September 4, as the central bank used foreign currency resources to support the rupee and the dollar value of some reserve assets fell.

The latest weekly drop was more than twice the previous week's $1.27 billion decline, which had taken reserves to $719.75 billion. Together, the two weeks reduced the total by about $3.96 billion. The fall since September's peak amounts to roughly 8.7%.

India still held $25.95 billion more in reserves than at the end of March and $27.32 billion more than in the corresponding period a year earlier. Those comparisons put the recent retreat alongside the substantial foreign currency inflows that preceded it.

A central part of that story is a special deposit and swap arrangement introduced in June. Banks raised approximately $133 billion through foreign currency deposits from Indians living abroad. Those dollars helped build reserves, but the transactions also created commitments to return dollars later.

The rupee's more recent movement adds another important detail. On November 6, a week after the reserve measurement date, the currency strengthened to 93.91 per dollar, its strongest closing level since April 22. Falling oil prices and foreign investment inflows helped ease currency pressure even as the published reserve figures recorded an earlier decline.

What changed inside the reserves?

Foreign currency assets, the largest part of India's reserves, fell by $2.088 billion to $591.118 billion during the week ended October 30. Rounded to two decimal places, those holdings stood at $591.12 billion and accounted for about 82.4% of the total.

Gold holdings were valued at $102.591 billion, down $559 million during the week. Special Drawing Rights, or SDRs, fell by $47 million to $18.558 billion. India's reserve position with the International Monetary Fund rose by $3 million to $4.790 billion.

SDRs are an international reserve asset created by the IMF, with a value based on a basket of major currencies. India's IMF reserve position represents foreign currency resources it can access through the institution. Both sit alongside foreign currency assets and gold in the reserve total.

The more precise total was $717.056 billion. The familiar $717.06 billion headline figure is its rounded value. Foreign currency assets accounted for about 78% of the latest weekly decline, while the fall in gold's value accounted for roughly another fifth.

Why dollar sales reduce the stockpile

The RBI can sell dollars and buy rupees when the Indian currency faces heavy selling pressure. Supplying dollars helps meet demand from importers, investors and other buyers, while purchasing rupees can help limit abrupt movements in the exchange rate.

Those transactions draw on the central bank's foreign currency holdings. The RBI has also used dollar and rupee swaps, which involve exchanging currencies now and reversing the transaction later. An estimate published in mid October put its deployment through immediate dollar sales and swaps since June at $75 billion to $80 billion.

The weekly reserve figures combine transactions with changes in asset values. A euro, pound or yen holding changes in dollar value as exchange rates move, even when the amount of that currency held stays the same. The exact division of the latest decline between intervention, valuation changes and other transactions has not been disclosed.

How overseas deposits lifted reserves

The RBI introduced its special dollar and rupee swap facility for Foreign Currency Non-Resident (Bank) deposits, known as FCNR(B) deposits, on June 8, 2026. Banks could raise fresh foreign currency deposits with terms of three to five years and exchange the dollars with the central bank.

Banks raised approximately $133 billion through the deposit arrangement. A broader figure for inflows associated with the measures was $143.5 billion, including those deposits. These inflows helped push reserves to their September record.

The arrangement gave the RBI access to dollars while banks acquired rupees. When the swaps mature, banks must buy back the dollars under the agreed terms, allowing them to meet their foreign currency obligations to depositors.

For readers, the key distinction is between having foreign currency available today and owning it without a future repayment commitment. The deposits increased the resources available to manage immediate currency demand, while also adding obligations that must be managed over time.

The dates behind the rise and retreat

The reserve decline followed several months of efforts to attract foreign currency and manage demand for dollars. The main dates show how the deposit scheme, the September peak and October's currency measures fit together.

• June 8, 2026: The RBI introduced the special swap facility for qualifying FCNR(B) deposits.
• September 4: Reserves reached a record $785.71 billion.
• October 12: A special dollar supply window began operating for three public sector oil companies.
• October 23: Reserves stood at $719.75 billion after a weekly decline of $1.27 billion.
• October 30: Reserves fell to $717.06 billion, down another $2.69 billion.
• November 6: The latest reserve figures were released, while the rupee closed at 93.91 per dollar.

The latest two weekly declines came within a longer retreat from September's peak, described as eight consecutive weekly falls. The October 30 reserve snapshot and the November 6 currency rally cover different periods, with the latter reflecting more recent market conditions.

Oil companies received a direct dollar window

The RBI's October measures included a special facility to supply dollars for the daily foreign exchange needs of Indian Oil Corporation, Bharat Petroleum Corporation and Hindustan Petroleum Corporation. The window operated through designated banks from October 12.

Oil importers need foreign currency to pay overseas suppliers. Meeting part of that demand directly through the central bank reduces the amount they need to buy in the domestic market for immediate currency delivery, often called the spot market. The country's oil bills still require payment, with the RBI providing another channel for obtaining the dollars.

The central bank also capped banks' net open rupee positions at $100 million and tightened rules on foreign exchange derivatives. A net open position is the currency exposure left after offsetting purchases and sales. Limiting it restricts how much exchange rate risk a bank can carry.

Restrictions on rebooking cancelled rupee derivative contracts were another part of the response. Derivatives are contracts whose value depends on an exchange rate. Companies can use them to protect future payments, while traders can use them to take positions on currency movements.

Gold explains why the two weeks look different

Gold's value fell in both of the latest reporting weeks, but its contribution to the reserve decline changed sharply. In the week ended October 23, gold reserves lost $2.65 billion in value, while foreign currency assets increased by $1.36 billion to $593.21 billion.

That gold decline more than offset the increase in foreign currency assets, producing the $1.27 billion fall in total reserves. In the following week, foreign currency assets and gold both fell, making the total decline larger.

Across the two weeks, the value of gold reserves dropped by $3.209 billion. Gold accounted for approximately 14.3% of total reserves on October 30, based on its $102.591 billion valuation and the $717.056 billion total.

The RBI held 880.52 tonnes of gold at the end of March 2026, when gold represented about 16.7% of reserves. The physical amount of gold and its dollar valuation are different measures: changing international prices can raise or lower the value of the same quantity. The March tonnage figure relates to an earlier date than the October valuation.

Why the rupee strengthened after the reserve decline

The rupee gained for a sixth consecutive session on November 6, rising 0.60% to close at 93.91 against the dollar. It opened at 94.49, compared with the previous close of 94.47, and reached 93.83 during trading.

A lower rupee price for one dollar means the Indian currency has strengthened. At 93.91, a buyer needed fewer rupees for each dollar than at the previous session's closing rate of 94.47. The gain was the currency's largest daily rise since October 12.

Dilip Parmar, research analyst at HDFC Securities, attributed the rise to foreign investment inflows and falling crude prices. He gave the following near term view of the dollar and rupee exchange rate:

In the near term, spot USDINR is expected to head south with support pegged at 93.50 and resistance ticking up to 94.30,

Parmar's levels describe areas where traders might expect buying or selling pressure to emerge. A fall toward 93.50 would mean further rupee strength; a rise toward 94.30 would mean the dollar becoming more expensive in rupees.

The January 2027 Brent crude contract settled at $96.84 a barrel on November 6, down from $98.29 the previous day and $117.64 on October 30. That was a fall of about 17.7% from October 30. Cheaper oil can reduce the dollars needed to pay a given oil import bill, easing one source of demand for foreign currency.

What households and businesses should watch

Families paying overseas tuition, booking foreign travel or buying goods priced in dollars feel exchange rate movements through their bills. A weaker rupee raises the local currency cost of a fixed dollar payment. A stronger rupee moves that cost in the other direction.

Businesses importing crude oil, electronics or other goods face the same exchange rate arithmetic. When foreign prices and the dollar both rise, the rupee cost can increase from two directions. Higher import costs can then feed into domestic prices, depending on how much companies pass on to customers.

India's $717.06 billion reserve stock gives the RBI resources to meet foreign currency needs and respond to market disruption. A sustained drawdown would leave less available for future intervention. The pace of change, the obligations attached to earlier inflows and the demand for dollars all matter alongside the headline total.

For households, the practical number is the exchange rate available when a payment is due. For the wider economy, the next reserve releases, foreign portfolio investment flows, crude prices and the rupee's movement will show whether the November currency recovery is accompanied by less pressure on the reserve stockpile.

Key Points

• India's reserves fell $2.69 billion to $717.06 billion in the week ended October 30, 2026.
• The total was $68.65 billion below September's record, but $25.95 billion above its end March level.
• Foreign currency assets fell $2.088 billion, while gold reserves lost $559 million in value.
• Banks raised about $133 billion through the special overseas deposit arrangement, which carries future dollar commitments.
• The RBI supplied dollars to support orderly currency trading and opened a dedicated window for three public sector oil companies.
• The rupee strengthened to 93.91 per dollar on November 6 as oil prices fell and foreign investment inflows supported the currency.