Karachi: Workers’ remittances maintained their strong momentum in November this year, remaining above $2 billion for a record sixth consecutive month, the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) said here on Friday.
Workers’ remittances rose to $2.34 billion in November, 2.4 percent higher than in October and 28.4 percent higher than last November, SBP said.
During the first five months of 2020-21, workers’ remittances have reached an unprecedented level of $11.77 billion, 26.9 percent higher than the same period last year. On average, workers’ remittances have been about half a billion ($499 million) higher in each month of 2020-21 as compared to the same period last year.
Remittance inflows during the first five months of this fiscal year have mainly been sourced from Saudi Arabia ($3.3 billion), United Arab Emirates ($2.4 billion), United Kingdom ($1.6 billion), and United States ($1.0 billion).
Continued government and SBP efforts to formalize remittances under the Pakistan Remittances Initiative (PRI), rising use of digital channels amid limited cross-border travel, orderly exchange market conditions, and some improvement in global economic activity are some of the important factors behind the sustained improvement in workers’ remittances.
