Between January and July 2021, remittances reached US$6,159.5 million, US$1,856.9 million higher than the same period of 2020, registering a 43.2 % inter-annual growth, informed the Central Bank of the Dominican Republic.
The institution highlights that, when contrasted with July 2019, the year prior to the pandemic, July 2021 remittances exhibited a growth of 40.0 %, some US$256.1 million more. Cumulatively, between January and July of this year, remittances reached US$6,159.5 million, US$1,856.9 million higher than the same period of 2020, registering a 43.2 % year-on-year growth.
The BCRD highlights that this flow of remittances sent by the Dominican diaspora is an element that contributes to spending and investment, translating into greater aggregate demand, thus mitigating the reduction in foreign exchange earnings due to the process of closing tourism for a period of time at the beginning of pandemic, favoring economic growth and improving the results of the current account of the balance of payments.
This increased flow of foreign exchange has allowed the accumulation of international reserves that exceeded US$12 billion at the end of July, approximately 14% of GDP and equivalent to 7.0 months of imports. These metrics exceed the levels recommended by the IMF, contributing to the Dominican Republic maintaining a favorable external position with prospects of obtaining a lower current account deficit in 2021, around 1.6% of GDP.
With information from the Central Bank of the Dominican Republic.
