Indian rupee falls to record low against the dollar, UAE dirham

The Indian rupee plunged to a fresh record low of 70.57 to the US dollar on Wednesday afternoon, as the American currency continued to gain strength.

The rupee opened the day’s trade on a weaker note, falling 22 paise to 70.32 against the US dollar.

It is currently trading at 19.20 rupees to one UAE dirham (12pm UAE time). The dirham is pegged to the US dollar.

“The weakness [of the rupee] could be on the back of month-end demand (for dollars) from oil companies. As such, all other factors are supportive of the currency. It could see appreciation after one or two days once this demand is out of the market,” Rushabh Maru, research analyst at Anand Rathi Shares and Stock Brokers told Indian site Moneycontrol.

The Indian currency has dropped significantly against the dollar this year and expats in the UAE remitting money back home have benefitted.

The UAE saw a 17.3 per cent surge in remittances year-on-year in the first quarter, according to the central bank.

Remittances were up Dhs6.5bn ($1.76bn) to Dhs43.5bn ($11.84bn) compared to Dhs37.1bn ($1bn) in the same period last year.

Indian transfers accounted for 36.7 per cent of remittances compared to 8.8 per cent for Pakistani transfers and 6.9 per cent for Filipino transfers.