Workers’ remittances from abroad ticked over US$2bn yet again (9 in a row now), clocking-in at US$2.27bn, up 24% YoY. Cumulatively, remittances now stand at US$18.74bn for 8MFY21, which is an improvement of 24% YoY.
On MoM basis, remittances were relatively unchanged, where slight declines from the two largest source countries, namely Saudi Arabia (-4% MoM) and UAE (-1% MoM) were offset by increases from the UK (15% MoM) and USA (4% MoM).
The central bank’s latest press release pertaining to remittances reiterated its view that this increasing trend was reflective of (1) policy measures by the SBP to encourage inflows via formal banking channels, (2) the pandemic effect, and (3) orderly exchange market conditions.
All else constant, we anticipate remittances to remain strong in the months ahead. Moreover, by mid-March total RDA inflows stand at ~US$671mn where over half of inflows have occurred in the last two months and total account holders over 100k now. This will provide some support and help in sustaining remittances in upcoming months in our view.