Diaspora Remittances Fall For The First Time In Two Years

 

By Kepha Muirur

Diaspora remittances registered the first year over year monthly decline in nearly two years in July.

This as Kenyans living abroad sent home a lower Ksh.38.2 billion ($319.4 million) last month compared to Ksh.40.3 billion ($336.7 million) in July of 2021.

This is the first decline in the diaspora remittances inside 23 months since April of 2020.

The 5.1 per cent decline in remittances year over year in July is largely attributable to the high global living costs which has seen many in the developed economies cut back on expenses to manage expenditures including trimming remittances.

In the bigger picture however, diaspora remittances have remained resilient to the emergent shocks registering a 16.1 per cent growth over the past 12 months according to data from the Central Bank of Kenya (CBK).

So far this year, Kenyans living and working abroad have sent home Ksh.282.7 billion ($2.364 billion) compared with Ksh.249.6 billion ($2.087 billion) at the same stage in 2021.

“The strong remittances inflows continue to support the current account and the stability of the exchange rate,” the CBK said in its latest weekly bulletin.

In July, the US remained the largest source of remittances into Kenya, accounting to 58 per cent of the inflows during the month.