The Dominican Central Bank reported that last May the remittances received reached US$933.8 million, an amount that exceeds US$295 million those registered in the same month of 2020, equivalent to a growth of 46.2%.
Cumulatively, between January and May 2021, remittances totaled US$4,393.2 million, US$1,656.3 million above the same period in 2020, representing year-on-year growth of 60.5%.
He explained that the improvement in economic conditions in the United States is one of the main factors that has had an impact on the behavior of remittances since 85.4% of the flows in May came from that country, where more than two million people reside. people of Dominican origin, according to the Census Bureau of the North American nation.
He indicated that one of the most relevant aspects of the North American economy refers to employment, whose figures indicate that 559 thousand new jobs were created in May, thus registering an unemployment rate of 5.8%, a decrease of 0.3% compared to 6.1 % of April.
In particular, the unemployment of Hispanics in the North American nation decreased to 7.3% in May from 7.9% last month.
The bank indicated that the dynamism of remittances, the growth of exports, plus the process of recovery in tourism and new foreign direct investment projects, initiated by companies in different sectors of the economy, have contributed to a greater flow of foreign currency. to the country. In addition, it has allowed the relative stability of the exchange rate to be maintained, in such a way that in May the exchange rate appreciated by 2.2% compared to December 2020.
The monetary and financial institution, through a statement, highlighted that this greater flow of foreign currency has allowed the accumulation of international reserves that exceed US $ 12 billion, approximately 14.7% of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and equivalent to 7.4 months of imports.
“These metrics exceed the levels recommended by the International Monetary Fund (IMF), helping the Dominican Republic maintain a favorable external position with prospects of obtaining a lower current account deficit in 2021, around 1.4% of GDP,” he highlighted.
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