Daily Times

In July, the first month of the fiscal year 2022-23, the total amount of workers’ remittances that were received was $2.52b. This figure represented an 8.6pc decrease on a monthly basis.

According to information that was made public on Tuesday by the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP), “Workers’ remittances recorded an inflow of US$2.5b during July 22, continuing their record streak of above $2b for the 26 consecutive months. ” In terms of growth, during July 2022, remittances decreased by 8.6pc on a m/m and of 7.8pc on y/y basis. This decrease largely reflected the lower number of working days in July as a result of Eid, at 17 working days compared to 22 last month and 18 in July 2021.”

The central bank explained in a note that “this was owing to significantly fewer working days because of Eid holidays.” Foreign exchange reserves have been depleted by external debt payments in Pakistan, making remittances an important component of the economy. Pakistan relies on remittance inflow to cover its foreign exchange needs because exports don’t come close to matching the enormous number of imports. The SBP’s reserves dropped by $555m last week, bringing the total to a worrisome $7.83b as of August 5, 2022, as authorities struggled to secure dollar inflows and give the economy a breather.

Thursday, the SBP said that the country’s total liquid foreign reserves were $13.56b. The total amount of net foreign reserves held by commercial banks was $5.73b.