ISLAMABAD: Remittances sent by overseas Pakistani workers continued to decline as inflows dipped month-on-month by 9.9 percent in January 2023, falling to a 31-month low.
According to data issued by the central bank, the workers’ remittances in Jauary 2023 clocked in at $1.894 billion compared to $2.1 billion in December and $2.18 billion in January 2022.
In the statement, the SBP stated that remittances dropped 9.9 percent month-on-month and 13.1 percent year-on-year. With a cumulative inflow of $16 billion during the first seven months — July to January — of FY23, the remittances decreased by 11 percent compared to the same period last year.
Remittances inflows during Jan 23 were mainly sourced from Saudi Arabia ($407.6 million), United Arab Emirates ($269.2 million), United Kingdom ($330.4 million) and United States ($213.9 million).
Last time, Pakistan received remittances less than $2 billion for a month was in May 2020 when $1.865 billion was clocked in.
It is pertinent to mention here that the workers’ remittances fall after the dollar cap, imposed to stabilise the rupee against the US dollar, prompted illegal transfers through hawala/hundi and other channels.
However, in January, the Exchange Companies Association of Pakistan (ECAP) removed the cap on the US dollar in a bid to end ‘artificial’ demand in the market.
In a statement, ECAP secretary Zafar Paracha said that the association was withdrawing the cap on the US dollar in the “nation’s interest” as the limit was causing adverse effects.
The statement noted that there was artificial demand in the market as people would buy the dollar from us and sell it in the grey market.
“As a result, the business was shifting from official channels to the grey ones, hurting not only the reserves but also dealing losses to the exchange companies,” Zafar Paracha added.
