For the first time in 31 months, Pakistan’s remittance inflow from foreign workers fell below the $2 billion barrier in January 2023, totaling $1.9 billion, a 13% decrease year over year.
According to data released by the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) on Monday, the inflow of remittances stood at $2.18 billion in the same month of the previous year.
The first month of 2023 saw remittance inflows drop to their lowest level since May 2020 ($1.894 billion). The January 2023 number is a fifth straight month-over-month fall.
Remittances decreased 10% month over month, totaling $ 2.102 billion in December 2022. The total amount of remittances received from July to January of fiscal year 2022–23 was $16 billion, which is 11% less than the $17.98 billion received during the same time of the prior fiscal year.
A significant decline in remittance was mostly observed in inflows coming from GCC countries.
Remittances from the United Arab Emirates amounted to $269 million during the month, a decline of 30% compared to $382 million in January 2022.
Overseas Pakistanis in Saudi Arabia remitted the single largest amount in January as they sent $408 million during the month. This was nearly 26% lower than the $549 million sent by expatriates in the same month of the previous year.
Inflows from the United Kingdom inched up 2% as they increased from $324 million in January 2022 to $330 million in January 2023.
Moreover, remittances from the European Union remained largely stable as they amounted to $240 million in January 2023. Overseas Pakistanis in the US sent $214 million in January 2023, registering a year-on-year increase of 1%.
As per SBP’s latest weekly report, the total liquid foreign reserves held by the country stood at $8.54 billion as of February 3, 2023 compared to $8.74 billion as of Jan 27, 2023.
