With the coalition government led by the Congress party back in power in India and a stable government expected to rule the country, the rupee is gaining in strength against the US dollar. This, however, is not welcome news for the millions of Indian expatriates, especially those in the lower income group in Saudi Arabia and other countries in the region whose currencies are linked to the dollar. Most of the foreign exchange operators in the Kingdom forecast the rupee to strengthen as Indian stock markets are surging. Raju Gopal, working in Speed Cash in Khobar, said that people have been calling to ask about the exchange rate since Saturday. “People were expecting the rate to go up and we are receiving a lot of phone calls enquiring about changes in the exchange rate. On Saturday one riyal would buy you about 13 rupees. On Sunday it was 12.74 rupees for one riyal, and on Tuesday it was 12.47 rupees. We expect the rupee to strengthen further as Indian stock markets are trading with confidence in light of the new stable government,” said Gopal. Abdul Razak, who works in a banking establishment in Jeddah, said that Indian expats here are worried about the strengthening of the rupee. Krishna Kumar, an Indian expat working as a salesman in Dammam, said that he is a bit upset about the current situation. “I tried my best to send as much as possible to India before the results were out because I expected the rupee to strengthen. Now I'll wait until the rupee weakens before I send money to India,” he said. Kumar said that he makes sure to know the rate on a daily basis so that he can analyze the market fluctuations. P. Asif, an accountant in a private firm, is also worried about the current situation, but he believes that eventually the rupee will decrease in value. “The world economy is still in recession and the Indian economy is no exception. The current gain of the rupee is in response to the surprise election result, but I doubt that it will stay strong for more than a month. At least I hope not,” said Asif.
