The Central Bank of the Dominican Republic (BCRD) , He reported this Tuesday that between the months of January and February 2022 the remittances received they got a figure of US$1,508.1 million.
The (BCRD) highlighted that this amount exceeds by US$430.4 million and US$325.0 million the remittances received in the first two months of 2020 and 2019, respectively, periods in which the aid schemes that were implemented later were not yet available. March 2020 and ending in September 2021.
In the month of February 2022, in particular, remittances totaled US$748.8 million, just 1.6% less than the same month in 2021. The entity points out that, however, said result confirms that remittance flows are adjusting to a new level, higher than the average prior to the pandemic.
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The issuing entity explains that the conditions of the labor market in the United States (USA) is one of the main factors that continues to affect the behavior of remittances, since 84.5% of the flows in February came from that country. During the month of February, the US unemployment rate decreased slightly to 3.8%, from 4.0% in January 2022. Particularly, the unemployment of Hispanics in the US decreased from 4.9% in January to 4.4% in February .
The BCRD also highlights the reception of remittances from other countries, such as Spain, in the order of 6.5%, a country that is home to more than 186,000 Dominicans from the diaspora in Europe, according to a study by the Institute of Dominicans Abroad (INDEX ), as well as Haiti and Italy, with 1.2% and 0.9% of the flows received, respectively. The rest of the reception of remittances is divided among countries such as Switzerland, Canada and Panama, among others.
Regarding the distribution of remittances received by provinces, the BCRD indicates that the National District obtained the highest proportion, 33.6%, followed by the provinces of Santiago and Santo Domingo, with 14.3% and 9.0%, respectively. This indicates that more than half (56.9%) of remittances are received in the metropolitan areas of the country.
Analyzing the flows of February 2022 according to the gender of the person receiving, men captured 53.8% and women 46.2% of the remittances received through formal channels.
The BCRD confirms that for this year the maintenance of a significant flow of remittances, the recovery of tourism close to pre-pandemic levels, a sustained growth in exports, and significant increases in foreign direct investment projects, mainly in the tourism sector, are expected. .
These events will contribute to a greater flow of foreign currency to the country and will help maintain the relative stability of the exchange rate that is currently observed, in such a way that at the end of February 2022 the exchange rate showed an appreciation of 5.3% year-on-year. . All this, together with the strong macroeconomic fundamentals of the country, would favor the accommodation of possible adverse shocks arising from the military conflict between Russia and Ukraine.
The institution highlights that this greater flow of foreign currency has allowed the accumulation of international reserves, which by the end of February 2022 reached the historical figure of US$14,849.9 million, representing 14.8% of GDP and equivalent to 7.2 months of imports. These metrics exceed the levels recommended by the IMF, helping the Dominican Republic maintain a favorable external position.
The Central Bank reiterates that it remains alert to continue taking the necessary measures to guarantee the stability of prices and the foreign exchange market during the process of consolidating the reactivation of the Dominican economy.
