Forex reserves dip for 3rd week in row, reach $688 billion level

MUMBAI:

Foreign exchange

reserves dropped for a third straight week, reaching $688.2 billion as of Oct 18, according to RBI data. The reserves fell by nearly $2.2 billion during the week, following a $14.5 billion decline over the two weeks before. The impact of the drop in reserves was moderated by close to a $1.8 billion increase in the value of

gold holdings

, which rose to $67.4 billion as investors turned to gold as a

safe-haven asset

.

Forex reserves

have fallen by $16.6 billion since a record high of $704.9 billion in September.