Riyadh – Mubasher: Remittances from expatriates in Saudi Arabia increased by 6.1% year-on-year, or SAR 637 million ($170 million), to SAR 11.024 billion ($2.9 billion) in January, from SAR 10.387 billion ($2.8 billion), the Saudi Arabian Monetary Authority (SAMA) reported.
Remittances fell 3.7% to SAR 136.43 billion during the full-year 2018, compared to SAR 141.66 billion in 2017, registering its lowest level in seven years, the Saudi central bank added.
Month-on-month, remittances from expatriates in the oil-rich kingdom levelled down 2.5% in January.
Meanwhile, money transfers by Saudis slumped 20.6% to SAR 4.908 billion in January, versus SAR 6.181 billion in the corresponding month a year earlier.
From January to December 2018, remittances by Saudis went down 7.7%, reaching SAR 60.27 billion, compared to SAR 65.27 billion in the previous year.
