The Central Bank of the Dominican Republic (BCRD) reported today that in January 2022 the remittances received reached the figure of US$759.3 million, which with respect to 2021 represents a slight year-on-year decrease of 4.2%.
However, the entity highlights that this amount exceeds by US$172.4 million and US$222.2 million the remittances received in January 2020 and 2019, periods in which the aid schemes that were implemented after March 2020, due to the entry of the COVID-19 pandemic, and which ended last September, were not yet available.
“This result indicates that the flows of remittances they are adjusting to a new level, higher compared to the average prior to the pandemic, although somewhat lower than that observed between March and September 2021, a period that was characterized by significant specific fiscal stimuli that sought to combat the economic effects of COVID-19 ” , expresses the BCRD statement.
In addition, it details that the conditions of the labor market in the United States constitute one of the main factors that continue to influence the behavior of the remittancessince 83.1% of the flows corresponding to January were received from that country.
In that sense, he explains that in that country, during last January, the unemployment rate increased slightly to 4.0% from 3.9% in December 2021.
By maintaining that the unemployment of Hispanics in the United States did not change in January, since it remained fixed at 4.9%, the BCRD deduces that this behavior suggests that the disposable income allocated by those who make up the diaspora to the remittances did not increase and that, consequently, to sustain these flows to the country, they could have accessed their savings to support their families.
remittances for country
In the report released by the Central Bank it is revealed that the receipt of remittances by other countries the flow from Spain remained, in the order of 7.3%, a country that hosts most of the diaspora in Europe, in Haiti and Italy with 1.3% and 1.0%.
While the rest of the reception of remittances rising to 7.3% is divided between Switzerland, Canada, Panama and other countries.
Distribution by provinces
While, with respect to the distribution of the remittances received by provinces, the Central Bank reports that the National District obtained the highest proportion, equivalent to 34.2%.
They are followed by the provinces of Santiago and Santo Domingo, with 14 and 9.2%, respectively.
“This indicates that more than half (57.4%) of the remittances it is received in the metropolitan areas of the country”, he concludes.
Regarding the gender of the person who receives these contributions from Creoles abroad through formal channels, the entity reported that men received 51.3% and women 48.7%.
positive outlook
In the document, the Central Bank of the Dominican Republic confirms that the perspectives on the conditions of the Dominican external sector remain positive for this year.
In addition, that the maintenance of an important flow of remittancesthe recovery of tourism to pre-pandemic levels, the behavior of exports, which shows signs of continuing, and the announcement of important foreign direct investment projects, mainly in the tourism sector, will contribute to a greater flow of foreign currency to the country.
The entity projects that the aforementioned aspects will also contribute to maintaining the relative stability of the exchange rate that is currently observed and that as of February 10, this showed an appreciation of 0.6% in relation to last December.
Likewise, it highlights that, according to the Monetary Program, the higher expected foreign exchange flow would allow the accumulation of international reserves by the end of 2022 of over US$13,300.0 million, representing 13.4% of gross domestic product (GDP) and equivalent to 6.5 months of imports.
“These metrics exceed the levels recommended by the IMF (International Monetary Fund), contributing to the Dominican Republic maintaining a favorable external position,” he analyzed.
At the end of the statement, the Central Bank reiterated that it remains alert to continue adopting necessary measures in order to guarantee the stability of prices and the foreign exchange market during the process of consolidating the reactivation of the Dominican economy.
