KARACHI: Remittances sent home by overseas workers in January declined by 5% year-on-year to $2.1 billion — the lowest amount of monthly remittances after August 2020, according to analysts.
The inflows slumped 15% month-on-month; however, the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) attributed a decline in January’s remittances to the easing of travel restrictions and seasonal factors.
The central bank, however, reported that despite a decrease workers’ remittances remained above $2 billion for the 20th consecutive month.
Meanwhile, the inflows roared to their highest in the first seven months of the ongoing fiscal year 2021-22 (July-January), driven by government efforts to encourage the use of official channels to transfer money, the central bank said on Friday.
“During the first seven months of FY22, remittances rose to a record $18 billion, 9.1% higher than the same period last year,” said the SBP in a statement.
Remittances, a major source for the country’s foreign exchange reserves and support for the low-income families, stayed robust aided by the government incentives to the expatriates for sending money home through official channels and the crackdown on operators of illegal sources like hundi and hawala.
