Rs 15,000 for Rs 1 lakh: Note exchange commissions fall to 15% in grey market

Money changers are now exchanging new currency for old for a 15% commission of the amount, down from 30-40% in the first two weeks after demonetisation was announced

After the initial frenzy, the grey market rate for exchanging old currency notes of Rs  500 and Rs 1,000 with new notes has cooled down.
 
Money changers are now exchanging new currency for old for a 15 per cent commission of the amount, down from 30-40 per cent in the first two weeks after demonetisation was announced. Today, if one has to exchange unaccounted money worth
 
Rs 1 lakh, the money operator will deduct Rs 15,000.
 

For delivery of new notes after three to six months, some agents are accepting rates as low as 10 per cent, said a market operator on the condition of anonymity.

 
Due to supply constraints of big-denomination notes, the deals were taking place mostly in notes of Rs 100. Now with the new Rs 500 and Rs 2,000 currency available in the system, the exchange gets easier and convenient.  Similarly, gold, which was being sold at Rs 50,000 per 10 g in old notes in the first week compared to the official market rate of around Rs 30,000 per 10 g is now trading around Rs 35,000-37,000 per 10 g, while the market rate is now around Rs 28,000.