In December, remittances decreased by 19% to $2 billion

In December 2022, the amount of remittances sent by Pakistanis living abroad fell to $2.04 billion, the lowest amount since May 2020, as expatriates continued to use unofficial routes in an effort to obtain a better exchange rate.

In comparison to the $2.52 billion reported during the same month of the prior fiscal year, remittances were down 19% in December on a year-over-year (YoY) basis (FY22).

When compared to the $2.1 billion recorded in November 2022, the remittance inflows decreased by 3% month over month (MoM).

According to a breakdown of the figures, Saudi Arabia had the greatest inflows, totaling $516 million, followed by the United Arab Emirates (UAE), the United Kingdom (UK), the European Union (EU) countries, the United States (US), and Saudi Arabia ($314 million).

It is important to note that one of the main causes of the ongoing reduction in remittance inflows is that the black market offers an exchange rate that is significantly higher than the one provided by legitimate channels, including commercial banks.