Mexico's August Remittances Down 11.6% On Year MarketWatch
go to original October 1, 2012

MEXICO CITY - Mexicans working abroad sent fewer dollars home in August then they did a year earlier, the central Bank of Mexico said Monday, although each of those dollars bought more pesos this year due to a better exchange rate.

Remittances in August totaled $1.9 billion dollars, or 11.6% less than in August 2011, the bank said. The dollar bought just over 12 pesos during August of last year, versus about 13 pesos in August of this year, partially offsetting the remittance drop in peso terms.

Remittances in the first eight months of the year totaled $15.61 billion, for a 2.5% increase over the same period last year. More transfers were sent this year than in the same period last year, although the amount of each transfer was slightly lower at $321.36.

Family remittances are a bigger source of foreign-exchange inflows than tourism, and the money sent home by Mexicans is seen as a major contributor to household consumption in Mexico.

Remittances reached a record $26 billion in 2007, and have been recovering since 2010 after falling during the 2008-09 recessions in the U.S. and Mexico.

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