Remittances to Mexico Keep Dropping

Remittances sent to Mexico dropped for the fourth month in row according to new data revealed by that country’s central bank. 

The Banco de México revealed yesterday that money transfers into Mexico totaled almost $1.78 billion in October, which was a decrease of 7.1% in comparison to the same month in 2011.  $19.04 billion in remittances were sent between January 2012 and last October and this represents a 0.9% decline compared to the first ten months of 2011. 

The new figures also revealed that the average amount of money sent per remittance in October 2012 ($299.78) is 5.8% less than in October 2011.

The decline in remittances can best be explained the old adage “when the U.S. sneezes, Mexico catches a cold”:

(The Banco de México) admitted that employment among Mexican migrants in the U.S. improved in the tenth month of the present year…yet job creation remains very weak for Mexicans (in the U.S.).

The central bank did note a silver lining among the negative data: the percentage of remittances sent in October was an improvement compared to the 20.2% nosedive in September.  

Remittances serve as Mexico’s second-largest source of foreign exchange behind oil exports and are a key source of income for millions of households.

According to the World Bank, Mexico is tied with the Philippines as the world’s third-largest recipient of money transfers with an estimated $24 billion in remittances for 2012.

Video Source– YouTube via teleSUR

Online Sources – La Prensa, El Economista, Milenio