Remittances clock in at $2bn in February, down 9.5% on a yearly basis

Inflow of overseas workers’ remittances maintained a subdued trend when compared on a yearly basis, clocking in at $2 billion in February 2023, a drop of 9.5%.

According to data released by the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) on Friday, the inflow of remittances stood at $2.2 billion in the same month of the previous year.

However, on a month-on-month basis, remittances increased 4.9% as they amounted to $1.9 billion in January 2023.

On a cumulative basis, the inflow of remittances during the July to February period of the fiscal year 2022-23 stood at $17.99 billion, 10.8% lower than $20.18 billion in the same period of the previous fiscal year.

January foreign remittances at 31-month low, clock in at $1.9bn

A significant decline in remittance was mostly observed in inflows coming from GCC countries.

Remittances from the United Arab Emirates (UAE) amounted to $324 million during the month, a decline of 16% YoY compared to $386 million in February 2022. On a month-on-month basis, the amount was 20% higher, compared to $269.2 million in January 2023.

Overseas Pakistanis in Saudi Arabia remitted the single largest amount in February as they sent $455 million during the month. However, the amount was nearly 19% lower than the $558 million sent by expatriates in the same month of the previous year.

Inflows from the United Kingdom also dipped 1% as they decreased from $320 million in February 2022 to $317 million in February 2023.

Moreover, remittances from the European Union registered a marginal increase of 3% clocking in at $245 million in February 2023. Overseas Pakistanis in the US remitted $219 million in February 2023, registering a year-on-year increase of 4%.

As per SBP’s latest weekly report, the total liquid foreign reserves held by the country stood at $9.75 billion as of March 3, 2023, compared to $9.26 billion as of February 24, 2023.

During the week under review, SBP’s reserves increased by $487 million to $4.3 billion on the back of another loan from China.