August Diaspora Inflows Drop to KSh27bn : CBK

Kenyans in diaspora sent home USD 274.1 million in August, however, this was a Ksh 2.9 billion decline inflows registered in July.

The Central bank of Kenya said the “inflows remained strong…compared to USD 214.3 million in August 2019.”

“The cumulative inflows in the 12 months to August 2020 totalled USD 2,921 million compared to USD 2,776 million in the 12 months to August 2019, an increase of 5.2 percent.”

During the period, inflows from the US, United Kingdom, Saudi Arabia and Qatar increased, while those from South Africa and Germany declined marginally compared to July 2020.

CBK expects the remittance inflows to support the weakening shilling that has hit record lows against the US dollar.

For instance, during the week, the Kenya Shilling despite remaining relatively stable against major international and regional currencies week ending September 24, it depreciated to KSh 108.41 per US dollar on September 24 compared to KSh 108.38 per US dollar on September 17.

The next meeting of the CBK Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) will be held on Tuesday, September 29, 2020. At its last meeting, the MPC voted to keep its benchmark lending rate at seven percent stating that its current accommodative stance remained appropriate.