Remittances from UAE to India to grow in coming months

Remittances to India by expatriates living in the United Arab Emirates could rise in the days ahead in view of the coming festive season and the fear that the rupee would weaken further against the US dollar, media reports here said.     

The rupee has been losing ground steadily, and industry experts said the strengthening of the dollar against the rupee meant that the Indian currency would lose against the dirham, which is pegged to the greenback.     

It is said that India's high fiscal deficit, a poor monsoon and prospects of a rise in the cost of oil imports in the coming months would put greater pressure on the rupee.     

“We expect to see an eight to 10 per cent increase in the remittances to India in the September to December period,” Sudhir Shetty, chief operating officer and general manager of UAE Exchange, told the Gulf News newspaper.     

The volume of currency transactions to India in the UAE Exchange rises traditionally during festivals such as Onam, Diwali, Christmas and the New Year.     

“We expect the rupee to weaken to 50 per dollar... Within the next six months, which means the remittances from the UAE to India may go up,” said Shetty.