Mumbai, Oct. 9 -- India's foreign exchange reserves fell sharply by USD 12.95 billion to USD 734.61 billion in the week ended October 2, primarily due to a decline in foreign currency assets and gold reserves, according to data released by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on Friday.

The RBI's Weekly Statistical Supplement showed that the country's total foreign exchange reserves declined by USD 12.952 billion during the week.

Foreign currency assets, the largest component of the reserves, fell by USD 10.664 billion to USD 604.747 billion, accounting for the bulk of the weekly decline.

Gold reserves also decreased by USD 2.288 billion to USD 106.413 billion during the reporting week.

The decline in both components contributed to the sha...