KARACHI: State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) informed on Friday that workers’ remittances continued their strong trend, reaching $2.66 billion in August 2021.

According to the SBP information, this is the sixth consecutive month when inflows recorded around $2.7 billion on average, and the 15 consecutive month they have been above $2 billion.

In terms of growth, remittances increased by 26.8 percent (y/y) in August, which is a decade high growth rate for that month. On a m/m basis, inflows were marginally lower than in July, reflecting the usual post-Eid slowdown. Nevertheless, this seasonal decline was far less this year compared to historical trends. Cumulatively, at $5.36 billion, remittances grew by 10.4% during the first two month of this year over the same period last year.

Remittance inflows during August 2021 were mainly sourced from Saudi Arabia ($694 million), United Arab Emirates ($512 million), United Kingdom ($353 million) and the United States ($279 million).

Proactive policy measures by the Government and SBP to incentivize the use of formal channels, curtailed cross-border travel in the face of COVID-19, altruistic transfers to Pakistan amid the pandemic, and orderly foreign exchange market conditions have positively contributed towards the sustained improvement in remittance inflows since last year.