Kenyans living and working abroad increased the money they send home by $18.7 million (Sh2.4 billion between September and October 2024.
This saw the total sent home last month (October) hit $437.2 million (Sh56.7 billion) from $418.5 million (Sh54.4 billion) a month earlier.
Compared to a similar period last year, this was an increase of 22.9 per cent when the foreign remittance stood at Sh46 billion ($355.6 million).
The Central Bank of Kenya (CBK) in its weekly bulletin published on Friday, November 15, announced that the cumulative inflows for the 12 months to October 2024 increased by 15.3 per cent.
This saw the 12 month remittances grow to $4.8 billion (Sh623 billion) compared to $4.1 billion (Sh532 billion) in the same period last year.
“The remittance inflows continue to support the current account and the foreign exchange market. The US remains the largest source of remittances to Kenya, accounting for 53.7 percent in October 2024,” CBK noted.
A current account represents the country’s imports and exports of goods and services, payments made to foreign investors, and transfers such as foreign aid. In 2024, the months of January, August, September, and October recorded the months with the highest dollar inflow from diaspora remittances with October highlighted as the best-performing month.
The central banks also noted that the country’s foreign reserves rose to their highest level in three years as dollar inflow from the recent International Monetary Fund (IMF) disbursement narrowed the current account deficit.
The forex reserved held by the central bank rose by 8.6 per cent to $9.27 billion (Sh1.2 trillion) by November 14, compared to a week earlier, sufficient to pay for 4.8 months of imports.
“The usable foreign exchange reserves remained adequate at $9,276 million as of November 14. This meets the CBK’s statutory requirement to endeavor to maintain at least 4 months of import cover,” read part of CBK’s bulletin.
Despite the dollar inflows from diaspora remittances, Kenya’s currency weakened marginally against the United States Dollar in the week ending November 15.
As of Friday, November 15, the central bank quoted the Kenyan shilling trading at Sh129.35 per US dollar compared to Sh129.20 per US dollar on November 7.
The local currency weakened
slightly against the dollar as traders
said the US currency had strengthened globally following the presidential election, thus increasing the
demand for foreign currency.
