Mumbai, Oct. 16 -- The foreign exchange reserves of the country declined by USD 8.578 billion to USD 726.027 billion in the week ended October 9, according to data released by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on Friday.

The RBI data also highlighted that the foreign currency assets, the largest component of India's forex reserves, fell by USD 7.142 billion to USD 597.605 billion during the week.

The gold reserves of the central bank declined by USD 1.319 billion to USD 105.094 billion, while the country's special drawing rights (SDRs) with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) fell by USD 109 million to USD 18.548 billion.

However, RBI data also pointed out that India's reserve position with the IMF increased by USD 10 million to USD 4....