Overseas Filipinos who have recently received their salaries and are now planning to send money back home to their nearest remittance centre can have their dirhams exchanged at a rate of AED 1 = Php 14.21.
Data from Google’s exchange rate graph shows that this is 0.22 Philippine cents higher compared to a month earlier as March 16’s rate was at Php 13.99.
Nagesh Prabhu, DGM, Treasury, LuLu Exchange, attributes this to the weakening of global currencies against the US dollar buoyed by the pandemic and the recent conflict between Russia and Ukraine.
“Like all other currencies, Philippine Peso has also weakened against the US Dollar. The pandemic has been one of the inciting reasons, but despite the inflation worries, there were expectations of recovery. Unfortunately, the recent war has put a strain on all major global currencies, Peso included,” said Prabhu.
He added that this is an ideal time for Filipinos to send money with increased rates across remittance centers such as LuLu Exchange.
“Although we are seeing a weakening of the Peso due to the current situation, making remittance to the country lucrative, the present situation cannot be termed as the ultimate/lowest level as the situation has not returned fully to normal. For expats looking to send money back home, now is a good time, but it is advised to be cautious of the dips and remit in installments, as it is very difficult to predict the currency’s movement accurately. There are various factors determining the direction of the markets, and it is always better to observe the trends and take advantage of real-time rates.”
Earlier, the United Arab Emirates ranked sixth among top sending countries to the Philippines as of January 2022.
Data from the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) said that the sum of transfers sent in cash or in-kind via informal channels reached $2.966 billion (Php 154,831,132,000) in January 2022. Of this number, $94,912,000 or Php 4.9B came from the UAE.
