Islamabad: Pakistan’s remittances continued to show robust growth in July 2024, just shy of the US$3 billion threshold, marking a significant 48% increase year-over-year. This performance extends the trend of remittances surpassing US$2.8 billion for the fifth consecutive month, a notable rise from the average monthly figure of US$2.3 billion observed during FY23 and much of FY24.

According to JS Global, the sustained increase in remittances reflects greater confidence in the Pakistani Rupee’s stability and the narrowing gap between interbank and open market exchange rates. Strengthened foreign exchange regulations are believed to have redirected a portion of remittances through official channels. Additionally, the rupee’s relative stability against rising domestic inflation may be encouraging larger remittance volumes. The UAE has emerged as a particularly strong contributor, nearly doubling its remittance flows year-over-year, increasing its share of total remittances to Pakistan from 16% to 20%, primarily driven by contributions from Dubai.

The remittance landscape shows mixed trends across other regions. While Saudi Arabia and the UK maintained their contribution shares at 25% and 15% respectively, the USA’s share declined from 12% to 10%, indicating slower remittance growth. The EU also saw a reduction in its share from 14% to 12%, pointing to lesser growth compared to other regions. This dynamic shift underscores the changing patterns in global remittance flows to Pakistan.