Central Bank reports that remittance flows reached US$7,921.0 million in the January-August 2025 period

Santo Domingo. – The Central Bank of the Dominican Republic (BCRD) reports that, between January and August 2025, remittances received reached the figure of US$7,921.0 million, increasing US$808.5 million (11.4%) compared to the same period of the previous year. Particularly, in the month of August, US$1,046.5 million were received, an increase of US$94.2 (9.9%) compared to August 2024. In the year 2025 so far, August is the third month in which remittances received exceed US$1,000 million, along with March and July. It should be noted that these resources supplied by the Dominican diaspora abroad have a multiplier effect on consumption, investment, and the financing of the most vulnerable sectors of the country. The BCRD explains that the economic performance of the United States was one of the main factors that influenced the behavior of remittances, since 80.4% of the formal flows of the month of August originated from that country, about US$751.2 million. Likewise, the general unemployment of the North American country stood at 4.3% in August, a slight increase compared to the level of 4.2% of last July 2025, with the addition of 22,000 new jobs. Additionally, the non-manufacturing Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) of the Institute for Supply Management (ISM) registered a value of 52.0 in August, above the 50.1 observed in July, indicating the expansion of the services sector, where a large part of the Dominican diaspora is employed. The BCRD also highlights the receipt of remittances through formal channels from other countries in August, such as Spain, for a value of US$71.4 million, 7.6% of the total, this being the second country in terms of the total number of Dominican diaspora residents abroad, as well as Italy, Haiti and Switzerland, with 1.5%, 1.3% and 1.2% of the received flows, respectively. In the rest of the receipt of remittances, countries such as Canada and France, among others, stand out. Regarding the distribution of remittances received by provinces, the BCRD indicates that the National District received a proportion of 47.5% during August, followed by the provinces of Santiago and Santo Domingo, with 10.6% and 7.0%, respectively. This indicates that nearly two-thirds of the remittances (65.0%) are received in the metropolitan areas of the country. Analyzing the recent behavior of the external sector, the BCRD’s outlook contemplates a favorable evolution of foreign exchange income during 2025, highlighting the income from the tourism sector, exports, and foreign direct investment together with remittances. Regarding remittances and FDI flows, it is estimated that, by the end of the year, they will be around US$11.7 billion and US$4.8 billion, respectively. Likewise, it is important to highlight the contribution of foreign currency that gold exports would provide at the end of 2025, which could reach US$2 billion supported by prices above US$3,000 per Troy ounce. These foreign exchange earnings contribute to maintaining the relative stability of the exchange rate currently observed, such that at the close of August 2025, the national currency depreciated by 3.3% compared to the close of 2024. These higher external flows have also allowed maintaining an adequate level of international reserves, which reached US$13,887.6 million at the end of August, representing 10.7% of GDP and covering about 5.1 months of imports, above the thresholds recommended by the IMF. The Central Bank reaffirms its commitment to monitoring the current economic environment to continue taking the necessary measures to counteract the impact on the Dominican economy of the challenging international landscape, in order to guarantee price and exchange rate stability.
Sunday, September 14, 2025