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(MENAFN - The Peninsula) Major currencies gained against the Qatari riyal (QR) yesterday after the dollar weakened due to a drop in consumer confidence in the US.
The euro and the sterling pound led the rally against the greenback, although the former lost some ground later in the day.
Indians routing remittances home at the month-end were in for a shock as the rupee jumped almost overnight to 12.80 per Qatari riyal from 12.95 on Monday.
The Indian currency firmed up against the riyal because of a tumbling dollar, to which the riyal is pegged. The rupee’s appreciation was also fuelled by the buoyancy of the Indian equity markets, foreign exchange operators said.
The pound surged on account of strong retail sales in the UK, explained Muzammil Hanif, Senior Vice-President of Al Fardan Exchange.
The exchange rate of euro was QR4.75 early last morning, but as the day matured the rate fell slightly to QR4.72. At QR4.75, the euro had touched a 11-week high against the US currency, said Muzammil Hanif.
QR5.67 fetched a pound in the local foreign exchange market yesterday, up from QR5.46 last March. The pound had peaked at an all-time high against the riyal in 2007 when one needed as much as QR7.28 to buy one pound.
The average in 2008 was QR6.74, which dropped to QR5.69 last year. The lowest rate quoted for the pound was in March last year at QR5.16.
The euro, which has been weakening against the greenback for a while, is now stabilising. The currency was stronger early yesterday with QR4.75 fetching one euro. The rate fell slightly to QR4.72 later in the day.
The Indian rupee gained relatively substantially against the riyal with the rate improving almost overnight from Rs12.95 to Rs12.80.
According to a senior official from Trust Exchange, which is managed by India’s largest public sector bank, the State Bank of India, the rupee’s sudden appreciation resulted from a more than 100-point gain by both the national and Bombay stock exchanges.
“The other reason for the rupee’s surge is that the dollar has been losing vis-à-vis the euro,” the Trust Exchange official said.
Asked about the trend in the short term, Muzammil Hanif said he expected the euro and the pound to keep looking up.
Travel and trade industry sources said the surge in the euro and pound rates did not bode well for those planning to vacation in European countries.
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