India's foreign exchange reserves experienced a significant decline of $8.094 billion, bringing the total to $688.894 billion for the week ending May 15, 2023, as reported by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI). This drop follows a previous increase of $6.295 billion to $696.988 billion the week prior. The reserves had peaked at an all-time high of $728.494 billion on February 27, 2023, before the onset of conflict in the Middle East, which has placed pressure on the Indian rupee, prompting the RBI to sell dollars in the forex market to stabilize the currency. For the week in question, foreign currency assets, a key component of the reserves, fell by $6.483 billion to $545.904 billion. In addition, the value of gold reserves also declined by $1.536 billion to $119.317 billion. Prime Minister Narendra Modi has appealed to the public to conserve foreign exchange by limiting foreign travel, reducing fuel consumption, and refraining from gold purchases for the year. Furthermore, the special drawing rights (SDRs) decreased by $49 million to $18.824 billion, while India's reserve position with the IMF fell by $25 million to $4.85 billion.