Indian rupee slips further against dirham as UAE NRIs cash in

Dubai: There’s more relief for Indian expats in the UAE, with the rupee dropping further against the dirham/dollar. The rupee is back at 23.36-23.4 levels, continuing the decline from Friday last.

Remittance volumes to India from the UAE and Saudi Arabia were higher than average this weekend as NRIs cashed in on the drop back to 23.3 levels.

What’s causing the rupee drop?

Between now and August 1, the one topic that will unite the global economy and markets is what will happen with the US President Trump’s tariff war. That includes a deal with India as well. “Indian markets are worrying about the ‘deal or no-deal situation’,” said Neelesh Gopalan, Treasury Manager at a Dubai remittance fintech.

“In the second-half of July, the forecasts for the dirham-rupee are to remain above 23.4, even go down to 23.5.”  

That’s still better than what Indian expats had been experiencing for most of the last 3-4 months, when the dirham-rupee was trading at 23.-23.2 and with occasional dips to 23.3. In mid-June, there was a brief phase when the rupee slipped to 23.62 against the dirham during the Israel-Iran crisis.

"The rupee may - briefly - test 23.5 to the dirham, but I feel that may be short-lived," said Subramanian Sharma, CEO of Greenback Advisory Services. "If the recovery happens, that would mean rupee going back to 23.3.

"The rupee is likely to trade in the range of 23.25 to 23.45 in the near future - but anything around 23.50 can be an opportunity for NRIs to remit."