Mumbai, Aug 31 (IANS): India's foreign exchange (forex) reserves decreased by $1.08 billion to $277.72 billion for the week ended Aug 23, according to data released by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI).

The reserves had increased by $205.8 million to $278.80 billion for the week ended Aug 16.

The foreign currency assets (FCA) - the biggest component of the forex reserves - fell by $1.07 billion to $250.48 billion, the weekly statistical supplement of the central bank showed.

The FCA had grown by $211.7 million at $251.56 billion in the previous week.

The central bank said FCA in US dollar terms included the effect of appreciation or depreciation of non-US currencies held in reserve, such as the pound sterling, euro and yen.

Gold reserves remained stagnant at $20.74 billion. The reserves of the precious metal remained stagnant after plunging $1.28 billion in the week ended July 5.

The special drawing rights (SDRs) declined by $4.5 million to $4.38 billion during the week ended Aug 23, while reserves with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) went down by $2.2 million to $2.10 billion.

The SDRs had declined by $3.9 million to $4.39 billion during the previous week, while reserves with the IMF were down by $2.00 million to $2.10 billion.