The Central Bank reports that monetary inflows from Dominican expats continue at high levels, injecting fresh capital to the Dominican economy when external shocks are driving inflation upwards.
The Central Bank reports remittances exceeded US$4 billion in the first five months of 2022. In January-May flows were US$4,057.2 million, US$1,186.9 million more than remittances received for the first five months of 2019, the pre-pandemic year.
The Central Bank says annual remittances could reach at year’s end US$10 billion, a new record.
In May 2022, remittances totaled US$851.2 million. The Central Bank says that remittances have stabilized at around US$800 million a month, compared to the average value for the same period from 2015-2019, that was around US$500 million per month.
In May 2022, the US reported a 3.6% unemployment rate. The Central Bank attributes the increase to more Dominican ex-pats having jobs in the United States and sending cash back to their relatives for spending and investing. 85% of remittances come from the United States.
People living in large metropolitan areas receive most of the remittances (56.8%) sent from abroad. The remittance data reveals that persons residing in the National District received 33.5% of the remittances, Santiago residents received 14.5% and Santo Domingo province residents received 8.9%.
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Central Bank
13 June 2022