The trade in Indian rupees dominated the Dubai Gold and Commodities Exchange last year. Prashanth Vishwanathan / Bloomberg News
The trade in Indian rupees dominated the Dubai Gold and Commodities Exchange last year. Prashanth Vishwanathan / Bloomberg News
The trade in Indian rupees dominated the Dubai Gold and Commodities Exchange last year. Prashanth Vishwanathan / Bloomberg News
The trade in Indian rupees dominated the Dubai Gold and Commodities Exchange last year. Prashanth Vishwanathan / Bloomberg News

Rupee worth its weight in gold


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Trading volumes at the Dubai Gold and Commodities Exchange (DGCX) surged to record highs on trading of the Indian rupee.

The Indian currency "dominated currency trading on the exchange", the DGCX said yesterday.

Trading volumes for last year reached 9.6 million contracts, a 137 per cent increase from 2011. The Dubai exchange accounts for 30 per cent of the total exchange-traded value of Indian rupee contracts globally.

The rupee traded at 54.45 to the dollar yesterday. It has strengthened from a low of 55.2 per dollar on January 7 because of increased foreign capital flows into the equity market.

Equities also advanced on Dubai's two main equity bourses yesterday.

DP World, the world's biggest ports operator, climbed 1.7 per cent to close at US$12.97 on the Nasdaq Dubai. The FTSE Nasdaq Dubai UAE 20 Index ticked 0.5 per cent higher to close at 1,986.09 yesterday.

Firms with a secondary listing on the Dubai Financial Market (DFM) were the most actively traded by investors. Gulf Finance House, a Bahraini investment bank, gained 0.3 per cent to close at 52 fils a share. Hits Telecom, a Kuwaiti operator, jumped 3.3 per cent to 85 fils a share.

The DFM General Index closed 0.1 per cent higher to 1,735.74. The Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange General Index advanced 0.8 per cent to 2,766.29.

Elsewhere, Kuwait and Bahrain indexes were little changed at 6,106.91 and 1,072.82 respectively. Oman's MSM 30 Index added 0.1 per cent to 5,851.32. Qatar's QE Index fell 0.5 per cent to 8,639.68. The Saudi Tadawul All-Share Index moved 0.38 per cent lower to 7,087.83.

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In numbers: PKK’s money network in Europe

Germany: PKK collectors typically bring in $18 million in cash a year – amount has trebled since 2010

Revolutionary tax: Investigators say about $2 million a year raised from ‘tax collection’ around Marseille

Extortion: Gunman convicted in 2023 of demanding $10,000 from Kurdish businessman in Stockholm

Drug trade: PKK income claimed by Turkish anti-drugs force in 2024 to be as high as $500 million a year

Denmark: PKK one of two terrorist groups along with Iranian separatists ASMLA to raise “two-digit million amounts”

Contributions: Hundreds of euros expected from typical Kurdish families and thousands from business owners

TV channel: Kurdish Roj TV accounts frozen and went bankrupt after Denmark fined it more than $1 million over PKK links in 2013 

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