The Central Bank (BCRD) reports that in the period January-November 2022 the remittances received reached a figure of US$8,912.3 million, which shows that by the end of this year flows of around US$10,000 million could be received, as indicated had estimated at the beginning of the year.
In November 2022, particularly, remittances totaled US$787.0 million, registering, for the second consecutive month, a slight year-on-year increase of 0.1%, and with respect to the same month of 2019, the year prior to the pandemic, the growth is 27%. . This result reaffirms the establishment of the new level of monthly remittance flows around US$800.0 million.
It indicates that when comparing this amount of November 2022 with the average value in the same month for the pre-pandemic period of 2015-2019, which was US$454.6 million, a significant increase is observed. These resources provided by the diaspora undoubtedly have a multiplying effect on the consumption, investment and financing of the most vulnerable sectors.
He explains that the economic performance of the United States is one of the main factors that continues to affect the behavior of remittances, since US$588.0 million came from that country, 83.8% of the flows in November through formal channels.
During said month, the non-manufacturing Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) of the Supply and Management Institute (ISM) registered a value of 56.5 in November, higher than the 54.4 registered in October, indicating an expansion of the service sector of the North American economy, where the Dominican diaspora in the US is mainly employed.
The BCRD also highlights the receipt of remittances through formal channels from other countries, such as Spain, for a value of US$45.0 million, 6.5% of the total, this being the second country in terms of total number of residents of the Dominican diaspora abroad. refers, as well as Haiti and Italy, with 1.2% and 0.8% of the flows received, respectively. The rest of the receipt of remittances is divided between countries such as Switzerland, Canada and Panama, among others.
A relevant aspect that affects remittance shipments from euro zone countries is the depreciation of the euro against the US dollar. With a lower value relative to the dollar, more euros are needed to cover the same needs, so it is expected that remittances sent in that currency will increase, which has not allowed a greater increase in the flow received. In fact, remittances originating from that area remained at a level similar to November 2021, increasing 0.1% in euros, despite the fact that, converted into US dollars, a 10.5% decrease in value is reflected.