March to see remittance spike from UAE as Indian rupee, other Asian currencies drop

March to see remittance spike from UAE as Indian rupee, other Asian currencies drop

Dubai: With the Indian rupee slipping below 20 to the dirham, and some of the other Asian currencies too losing ground, UAE's remittances are in for a sharp surge this week. It was on Friday last that the rupee lost ground after holding on the 19. 30-19. 50 levels to the dirham and went down to 20 plus. That in itself should have set off an immediate increase in India-bound remittances, but "many NRIs were waiting for their February salaries to be credited before doing so," said a banking industry source. "Also, many are hoping the rupee's drop could continue this week before they send." Early on Monday (March 1), the rupee was at 73. 59 to the dollar, 20. 03 to the dirham. It was in April last year that the rupee dropped to its lowest point. It was at 76. 8 on April 16, and on April 22 it briefly tested 76. 90. Same wait-and-watch sentiments could be seen in store for other remittances. On February 25, the Philippines peso was at 49. 08 to the dollar and has since slipped to 48. 76. The Pakistan rupee is trading at 157. 75 to the dollar, slipping from just