Remittances jump 9.35pc in November

Dawn on December 11, 2019

KARACHI: Pakistan’s remittances rose by 9.35 per cent to $1.819bn during November, from $1.664bn in corresponding month of FY19, reported the State Bank of Pakistan on Tuesday.

However, on a monthly basis, foreign inflows declined by 9.05pc — or $181m — compared to October this year, when the figure stood at $2bn.

Similarly, remittances during the first five months of this fiscal year edged up by 0.18pc as foreign inflows to the country clocked in at $9.298 billion, as compared to $9.282bn in corresponding period last year.

Saudi Arabia, the biggest source of foreign inflows, exhibited a minor decline as remittances edged lower by 0.36pc to $2.145bn during July-November, as opposed to $2.152bn in 5MFY19.

Meanwhile, the growth in remittances from the US and UK decelerated in 5MFY20 to 5.25pc and 3.58pc, from 33.07pc and 18.05pc.

Inflows from the US reached $1.532bn, versus $1.456bn in July-November of FY19. Similarly, the UK recorded remittances of $1.428bn, down from $1.379bn in corresponding five-month period last year.

Meanwhile, the remittances from the United Arab Emirates came in second, noting a decline of 3.7pc as the total fell to $1.921bn, decreasing from $1.997bn in the five months of 2018-19. During the same period of last year, a 13pc growth was posted.

The disappointing figures from the top-four destinations came on the back of both yearly and monthly declines in November figures, where remittances fell to $407.48m from Saudi Arabia, versus $468.18m in October; $298.64m from the US, compared to $322.38m; $383.7m from the UAE, as opposed to $398.96m; and $285.56m from the UK, versus $328.69m.

A modest increase was seen from the other Gulf Cooperation Council countries as foreign inflows inched up by 0.28pc to reach $883.45m during July-November FY20, versus $881.34m in corresponding months last year.

Similarly, inflows from Malaysia increased by an insignificant 0.96pc to $664.03m, from $658.04m. The same figure had shown a massive growth of 64pc compared to same period of 2017-18.

Sources: https://www.dawn.com/news/1521589