The State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) announced on Friday that remittances fell by 9.1% in October to $2.22 billion from $2.44 billion in the month before, September.
Foreign currency inflows related to worker remittances sent home by Pakistanis living abroad fell to an eight-month low of $2.22 billion in October, as expatriates reportedly turned to using unauthorized routes to send the money home in an effort to get a better exchange rate.
A dollar is currently exchangeable for between Rs235 and Rs240 on the underground market. Compared to the Rs221-222 being offered through legitimate channels, including commercial banks, this is Rs14–18 more expensive.
When compared to $2.63 billion received in the same month last year, this was 15.7% lower in the reviewed month.
Cumulatively in the first four-month (July-October) of the current fiscal — 2023, the remittances dropped by 8.6% to $9.90 billion compared with $10.83 billion in the same period of the previous year.
The receipts of remittances from all across the world, with the exception of the US, have decreased between July and October 2022.
Remittances from US workers increased by 6.9% to $1.07 billion over the course of four months compared to the same period last year.
However, the amount of money coming in from the UK fell by 8.3% over the course of four months to $1.37 billion over the examined period. Saudi Arabia was Pakistan’s greatest source of revenue, although its total receipts fell by 11.7% to $2.46 billion.
The second-largest region’s inflows, the UAE, decreased by 9.2% to $1.88 billion during the course of four months. Other Gulf Cooperation Council nations made inflows of $1.14 billion, down 6.2%.
The workers’ remittances from the EU countries declined by 11.1% to Rs1.06 billion. Pakistan is witnessing a gradual slowdown in receipts of workers’ remittances for the past several months. Earlier, the inflows had continued to rise in the past two to 2.5 years since Covid-19 restrictions were imposed at the outset of 2020 around the globe.
