Omani Rial rules strong against Indian, Pakistani currencies

Oman Tuesday 17/May/2022 21:50 PM
By: Times News Service
Omani Rial rules strong against Indian, Pakistani currencies
This is mainly due to the change in the dollar rate, said an exchange house official.

Muscat: Expats in Oman who wish to send money to their families back home in India and Pakistan can continue to take advantage of high exchange rates of Omani Rial with the currencies of their respective countries.

Exchange houses in Oman are offering 495 Pakistani Rupees and 201 Indian Rupees for one Omani Rial and say the rates could show slight fluctuations, but are likely to stay at this level for some time.

“This is mainly due to the change in the dollar rate, due to which all other currencies in developing countries are being affected,” said an official at an exchange house in Oman.

“We have also seen increased exchange rates for the Philippine Peso. While the exchange rate for the Omani Rial when it was converted to Sri Lankan Rupees and Bangladesh Taka was also high, those rates have fallen a bit over the last few days.”

According to another exchange house in Oman, this has been the highest exchange rate for Omani Rial when converted to the Pakistani Rupee. This is true of the Indian Rupee as well.

“We expect the rates to change a bit over the coming days, but apart from that, the rates will most likely stay in the same region,” said a money exchange official.

Another added: “With the current situation, however, it remains difficult to tell whether the value of these currencies will depreciate further, or remain at the same level.”

According to figures from the Central Bank of Oman, remittances were largely decreasing from 2015 to 2020.

In 2015, OMR4.2 billion was remitted out of the country which fell to OMR3.96 billion in 2016. That figure fell to OMR3.774 billion in 2017, and although remittances rose slightly to OMR3.829 billion in 2018, they fell again to OMR3.51 billion in 2019, and OMR3.373 billion in 2020.

“The current transfers (workers’ remittances) decreased by four percent in 2020 as against a decline of 8.3 percent in the previous year,” said CBO in its annual report for 2020, which also factored in the impact of the COVID pandemic.

“Current transfers consisting mainly of workers’ remittance, however, declined amidst stagnant wages and falling expatriate population,” added the bank.