Bloomberg and Business Standard report that the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) may have reduced its gold holdings to support foreign-exchange (FX) reserves. Bloomberg Economics, using publicly available data, suggests the RBI sold part of its gold to protect FX assets from spillover effects linked to the regional war in the Middle East. Business Standard cites a similar analysis, indicating that the RBI’s gold sales could total about $12 billion over the two weeks ending May 22. The same reporting says the RBI bought approximately $7.5 billion in foreign-currency assets during that period, implying a net shift in balance-sheet composition toward currency holdings.
Both accounts frame the activity as a reserve-management decision aimed at maintaining foreign-currency resources, rather than providing details on the specific counterparties, timing beyond the cited window, or whether the transactions are part of a broader, ongoing strategy. Neither source attributes the actions to a confirmed official statement from the RBI; instead, they rely on inference from available balance-sheet and market-linked indicators.
