Dubai: The Indian rupee dropped immediately against the dirham at the start of the week, opening up the prospect of higher remittance possibilities in the first week of March.
Against the Rs20.45 levels at close on Friday last, the rupee is trading at Rs20.62 levels against one dirham, obviously feeling the pressure from the continued global crisis set off by the Russia-Ukraine conflict. There are indications that the rupee could even trend towards Rs20.70 levels as more uncertainty mounts over what will likely happen next in Ukraine. (For ready exchange rate trends, please visit Gulf News.)
Mid-December, the rupee dropped to its lowest point in the last 80 days, to Rs20.73. (On February 24, which was when the conflict broke out, the rupee was at Rs20.43 on the exchange side, then recovered to Rs20.26. On February 19, it was at a quite strong Rs20.18.)
“As for Indian expats in the UAE, the timing of the rupee’s weakness could not have been better,” said a senior treasury operations spokesperson at LuLu Exchange. “All through last week, they were keeping a wait-and-watch attitude, and the rupee even held up in the first two days of the conflict at Rs20.40+ levels.”
Sustained pressure on the rupee could see the actual currency exchange rate at around Rs20.50 to the dirham. All things considered, the first 10 days of March could see one of the highest remittance surges on the dirham-to-rupee conversions in the last three months.
