Saudi Arabia: Remittances fall to five year low

The remittance by expatriates living in Saudi Arabia fell 10.41 percent to SR9.33 billion during February 2024 from SR10.41 billion in the previous month. This shows a the decline of SR1.08 billion month-on-month basis, marking the lowest average monthly level in five years, according to a monitoring by Okaz/Saudi Gazette based on the statistical figures released by the competent authorities.

The average monthly remittance level recorded a fall in January and February to the lowest level in at least five years, as the average remittances for the two months reached about SR9.87 billion. The average value of monthly remittances of expatriates in 2019 was reported at SR10.46 billion, and then it maintained a steady increase in the two successive years.

During the year 2020, the monthly average of foreign remittance rose to SR12.47 billion and it further rose to SR12.82 billion in 2021. Then, it began to decline in 2022, bringing the average monthly remittance value to SR11.94 billion. During the year 2023, the average value of foreign remittance declined further reaching SR10.41 billion while the average value of transfers for the months of January and February was reported at SR9.87 billion.

Meanwhile, the Saudi Central Bank (SAMA) revealed that the bank’s net foreign assets recorded a decline of US$7.20 billion in February as compared to the previous month. Net foreign assets fell to SR1.545 trillion (US$411.96 billion) from SR1.572 trillion (US$419.1 billion) in January, and net foreign assets fell 4.9%YoY in February.