Remittances up 13.14pc to $3.419bln in 1Q

KARACHI: Remittances from overseas Pakistani workers rose 13.14 percent in the first quarter of current fiscal year, mainly on the back of strong economic and job market growth in the major contributing countries and devaluation of rupee, the central bank data showed on Wednesday.

The figures released by State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) revealed remittances stood at $5.419 billion in July-September FY2019, compared to $4.790 billion in the same period last year, whereas they amounted to $1.452 billion in September 2018 against $2.037 billion in the previous month.

The country-wise details for the July-September period showed that inflows from the United States posted the highest growth.

Expatriates living in the US sent $828.44 million home in the first three months of the current fiscal, compared with $625.94 million in the same period last year.

The US was followed by the United Kingdom (UK), with $759.43 million, compared to $643.08 million in the same period last year.

The low unemployment rate in both USA and UK amid rising economic activity and appreciation of their currencies against the rupee led to higher remittances from these corridors.

Remittances from Saudi Arabia also depicted an upward trend during the period in review, rising to $1.263 billion in July-September FY2019 from $1.228 billion a year earlier. Earlier, remittances from Saudi Arabia were on the decline. It was because fiscal consolidation and job nationalisation policies undertaken by the Saudi government had restricted foreign labour demand in the kingdom, leading to repatriation of a number of foreign workers to their home countries.

Moreover, remittances from the United Arab Emirates rose to $1.195 billion compared with $1.077 million a year ago.