He Central Bank of the Dominican Republic (BCRD) reported today that, between January and August 2024, the remittances received They reached 7,112.5 million dollars, increasing 342.6 million (5.1%) compared to the same period of the previous year.
According to the report, in August they received 952.3 million dollars for this concept, an increase of 10.7% compared to August 2023. “It is important to highlight that these resources provided by the Dominican diaspora abroad have a multiplier effect on consumption, investment and financing of the most vulnerable sectors of the country,” he says.
The reception of remittances by formal channels from other countries in August it was received from:
- USAwith 82.0%, about 713.5 million dollars.
- Spainworth 59.1 million dollars, a 6.8% of the total.
- Italy and Haitiwith 1.3% and 1.1% of the received flows, respectively.
- The rest of the reception remittances countries are distinguished as Switzerland, Canada and Panamaamong others.
Regarding the distribution of the remittances received by provinces, the BCRD indicates that the National District received a proportion of 43.0% during the eighth month of this year, followed by the provinces of Santiago and Santo Domingo, with 11.8% and 7.6%, respectively.
He emphasizes that the distribution by residence demarcation indicates that almost a third of the remittances (62.4%) is received in the metropolitan areas of the country.
A look at the international economic situation
The BCRD observed that the general unemployment of the North American country It stood at 4.2% in August, a slight decrease compared to the level of 4.3% last July 2024, with the creation of 142,000 new jobs. This variation drove the increase in remittances.
Additionally, the purchasing managers index (ISM) non-manufacturing PMI recorded a value of 51.5 in August, slightly above the 51.4 observed in July, indicating the expansion of the services sector, where employs a large part of the Dominican diaspora.
Analyzing the recent evolution of the external sectorthe BCRD’s perspectives contemplate a favorable evolution of the income of foreign exchange during 2024, which would generate more than 42.6 billion dollars, highlighting the income from the tourism sector with a value of more than 10.5 billion and a similar amount for remittances.
Likewise, the estimates for the end of the year contemplate foreign direct investment flows (FDI) above 4.5 billion dollars, and exports from free zones above 8.4 billion. “These income from foreign exchange “They contribute to maintaining the relative stability of the exchange rate that is currently observed, such that at the end of August 2024 the national currency depreciated by 2.8% compared to the end of 2023,” he added.
“The Central Bank reaffirms its commitment to surveillance over the economic environment to continue taking the necessary measures to counteract the impact on the Dominican economy of the challenging international panorama, in order to guarantee price and exchange market stability,” the report concludes.
