Remittances through January

Remittances, as measured by the inflow of noncommercial transfers to individuals through commercial banks, maintained a robust pattern of growth through December of 2008. This is truly impressive given all the shocks that the country experienced. January is a different story where transfers slowed down by some 25 percent year over year. Two questions: why did remittances continue to grow through December, and, two, what does January foretell about the future?




Inflow: USD millions transferred monthly through commercial banks
Source: CBA







A similar pattern is observed for outflows. These are usually smaller, but as with inflows, these transfers also declined in January.



Outflow: USD millions transferred monthlythrough commercial banks
Source: CBA