Remittances to Pakistan increase in first quarter of fiscal year 2017

ISLAMABAD - Pakistan received almost US$4.8 billion in remittances in the first three months of the current fiscal year (July-September), about 50 million more than in the same period last year, official data shows.

Last month, Pakistanis living or working abroad sent home 1.29 billion dollars, 19.7 percent less than the same period last year, according to a report from the Central Bank.

Recently the institution warned that the figures will be slightly lower this year due to the uncertainty of the Persian Gulf economies, where millions of Pakistanis work.

In fact, remittances from Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates topped the list in the first three months with 308,5 million dollars and 302,7 million, respectively.

Remittances are very important for the Pakistani economy and a key factor in reducing the country's large fiscal deficit.