ISLAMABAD-Pakistan has received $2.21 billion foreign remittances in the month of September, showing 5.34 percent growth on monthly basis.
According to the latest data released by the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP), remittances increased by 5.34 percent on a month-on-month (MoM) basis, reaching a total of $2.21 billion as compared to $2.09 billion in the previous month. However, it has recorded a significant decline in workers’ remittances on a year-on-year (YoY) basis. There has been an 11.3 percent decline in workers’ remittances for September, compared to $2.49 billion received in the same month last year.
Looking at the cumulative figures for the first three months of the fiscal year 2023-24, Pakistan received a total of $6.33 billion in remittances. While this is a significant amount, it represents a 19.85 percent decrease compared to the $7.9 billion received during the same period in the previous fiscal year. The decline underscores the ongoing challenges and fluctuations in remittance trends. The country has received $538.16 million from Saudi Arabia followed by the UAE with $399.77 million, the UK with $311.06 million, EU countries with $269.25 million, and the USA with $263.42 million. These source countries continue to play a pivotal role in supporting Pakistan’s economy through remittance inflows. The ministry of finance has already projected that recent administrative measures against speculative activity in the foreign exchange market in month of September will impact positively remittances inflows, trade, and current account balance.
It is worth mentioning here that in Jul-Aug FY2024, workers’ remittances decreased by 21.6 percent to $ 4.1 billion ($5.3 billion last year). MoM, remittances increased by 3.1 percent in August 2023 ($2.1 billion) as compared to July 2023 ($ 2.0 billion). Major sources of remittances are Saudi Arabia 23.7 percent ($976.9 million), UAE 15.1 percent ($623.5 million), UK 15.5 percent ($637.9 million), USA 12.2 percent ($503.7 million), other GCC countries 11.5 percent ($472.8 million), EU 13.9 percent ($573.8 million), Canada 1.7 percent ($71.5 million), and other countries 6.5 percent ($261.9 million). The decline is attributed to the global economic slowdown as higher inflation in developed countries has led to higher cost of living abroad, thus reducing the surplus funds that could be sent back to homeland as remittances, and the wedge between the exchange rate in interbank and open market.
Source: nation.com.pk
