Outbound Pakistanis’ remittances continued to grow, hitting $2.66 billion in August 2021, according to a statement released by the State Bank of Pakistan on Friday. This is the sixth month in a row where inflows have averaged about $2.7 billion, and the 15th month in a row where inflows have exceeded $2 billion, the central bank said. There was an increase of 26.8pc (y/y) in August, which is the highest growth rate for that month in almost a decade; m/m inflows were somewhat lower than in July, suggesting the customary post-Eid slowdown in foreign investment. Dense snow cover and a mild winter haven’t halted the seasonal drop. Remittances in the first two months of this year totaled $5.36 billion, an increase of 10.4pc over the same period last year. When it comes to sending money home, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, UK, and the USA were the top four sources in August 2021, with $694 million, $512 million, and $353 million respectively. Since last year, the sustained improvement in remittance inflows has been attributed to proactive policy measures taken by the Government and SBP to encourage the use of formal channels, curtailed cross border travel in the face of COVID19, altruistic transfers to Pakistan amid the pandemic, and orderly foreign exchange market conditions.