Dollar Plummets to 3.5-Year Low, Leaving UAE Expats Scrambling to Plan Remittances

The US dollar has crashed to a three-and-a-half-year low, throwing a wrench into the financial plans of UAE expats who send money home. Just days ago, expats from Asia, particularly India and the Philippines, were poised to benefit from a strong dollar as their home currencies weakened. Now, with the dollar crash shaking up exchange rates, many are left scrambling to decide when—or how much—to send. The dollar’s slide is largely due to a ceasefire holding between Israel and Iran, which has cooled demand for the greenback as a safe-haven currency. On Thursday morning, June 26, 2025, the dollar index, a measure of the dollar’s strength against a basket of major currencies, slumped to 97.47, down from a high of 99.18 a week ago. This marks a sharp decline from its January 25 peak of 110.17, according to Subramanian Sharma, Promoter Director of Mumbai-based Greenback Advisory Services. “For expats, this dollar crash is a wake-up call,” said a currency exchange official in Dubai. “Those waiting for their end-of-month salaries to send money home might be kicking themselves. The exchange rates were fantastic earlier this week—23.5 for the Indian rupee and 15.61 for the Philippine peso. Now, they’re looking at much less.” A Missed Opportunity Many UAE expats had hoped