Overseas Remittances Surge 18% in February

KARACHI, Mar 09: Remittances from overseas Pakistanis witnessed an 18% year-on-year jump in February, reaching $2.25 billion, according to data from the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP). This increase is a positive sign for Pakistan's economy, potentially helping to stabilize the rupee's value against the US dollar.
However, the news is not all positive. Compared to the same period last year (July-February), remittances for the first eight months of the current fiscal year have decreased by 1.25%, totaling $18.08 billion.
Despite the overall decline, there were significant increases in remittances from key sending countries. Saudi Arabia saw an 18% rise to $540 million, while the UAE, UK, and European Union also sent more money, with increases of 19%, 9%, and 7% respectively. Remittances from the United States saw the most substantial jump, growing by 31% to $287 million.
Experts attribute the month-on-month decrease in remittances from January's $2.39 billion to February's shorter duration. Ali Najeeb of Topline Securities and Moaz Azam of Optimus Securities confirmed this, highlighting that daily remittance averages remained stable when considering the difference in days between the two months.
The trend of increased remittances during Ramadan and Eid is expected to continue, with Pakistanis abroad traditionally sending more money home during these periods. This could lead to higher remittance figures in the coming months.