Dollar shortage eases as exchange houses source it from Hong Kong, Singapore
In the immediate aftermath of the GCC blockade on Qatar, there had been a shortage of Dollars in exchange houses in Qatar as supply of the currency from the UAE stopped. But reports indicate that things have changed a lot for the better now.
In a bid to maintain stock of US Dollar to meet demand, money exchange houses in Qatar have taken various measures to get regular supply of the currency from Singapore and Hong Kong, reported Qatar Tribune.
“There’s no such shortage of the US Dollar in the local market now as we’ve started receiving shipment of the currency from Singapore and Hong Kong,” Al Dar Exchange CEO Jumah Al Maadhadi told Qatar Tribune.
Maadhadi said they began talks with exporters of the currency in Singapore and Hong Kong.
“We received the first shipment of US currency worth $3m from Hong Kong last Thursday. The amount increased to $5m and $8m on Monday and Tuesday, respectively. We’re expected to get a regular supply of US notes worth $13m by the end of this week,” Maadhadi said.
The official of Al Dar Exchange, which redistributes US dollar sourced from other countries to local exchange houses, said there would be no shortage of the US dollar at any of the exchange houses in Qatar.
“Availability of the US currency in Qatar will be quite normal from this week,” Maadhadi said.
Manager of a Qatar-UAE Exchange branch in Doha said the exchange had enough dollars to meet the demand of its customers.
“There was a sudden rise in demand for US dollar and the supply of the currency was stopped from the UAE. The situation is normal now. Now we’re getting the currency from alternative sources,” the manager said.
Earlier, Reuters had reported that shortages of US Dollars hit money exchange houses in Qatar, making it harder for worried foreign workers to send money home.
But they pointed out that the dollar shortages does not mean that Qatar, which is one of the richest states in the world per capita and has huge foreign reserves, is running out of money.
Did you feel the Dollar shortage? Do you see a change now? Let us know!
