RemittancesGateway.org

Remittances to El Salvador Fall 10%

Tuesday, 13 October 2009 07:50

Source: Latin American Herald Tribune

Remittances from Salvadoran emigrants totaled $2.58 billion during the first nine months of the year, down 10.3 percent from the same period in 2008, the Central American nation’s central bank said Monday.

The Banco Central de Reserva noted, however, that the pace of the decline in remittances has slowed, from 12.7 percent in the second quarter to 10.4 percent in the July-September period.

The drop is blamed on the severity of the recession in the United States, where the vast majority of Salvadoran expatriates live.

One of the pillars of El Salvador’s weak economy, remittances are the country’s second-largest source of revenue and in recent years have accounted for up to 17 percent of its gross domestic product. EFE