Outward remittances fall on account of dearer dollar

In June the forex spend for travel by resident Indians fell to $1.1 million in June 2013,from $3.8 million in June 2012 ,which was also the lowest in 14 months. The average for the first five months for calendar 2013 stood at $3.9 million.

Remittances under the head — maintenance of close relatives — saw a year-on-year decline of 38 per cent to hit a 28-month low of $9.3 million in June 2013.

The average for the first five months of the calendar 2013 stood at $23.7 million and the June figure is 60 per cent lower than the calendar year average.

“As rupee fell sharply in the months of May and June some cancelled their trips,some reduced the number of days of their vacation and there were many who took a cut on their miscellaneous expenses and carried fewer dollars than they otherwise would,” said Subhash Goyal,president,Indian Association of Tour Operators.

Tour operators say that while bookings for foreign travel that were done earlier and paid for,did not see much change,those at the negotiation stage did not materialise as customers opted for domestic destinations.

The rupee depreciated sharply in the months of May and June. While it depreciated by over 7 per cent in June alone,the fall in its value between May and June aggregated to around 13 per cent making travel and other dollar expenses that much more expensive.

The total outward remittance in the month fell by 33 per cent to $92.1 million in June 2013 from $137.3 million in June 2012. Within that,the ‘others’ component — another remittance head — witnessed a sharp dip of 50 per cent to $29.4 million in June 2013 from $58.7 million in June 2012 . The year-on-year dip in remittances for education was 31 per cent.

The only item which saw a rise in the outward remittances in the month of June over the previous year was for the purchase of immovable property which rose by 168 per cent to $8.6 million from from $3.2 million.