Remittance falls 29pc in July

Remittance plummeted about 29 percent year-on-year to $1 billion in July as low oil prices continue to bite the countries that host the majority of Bangladesh's migrant workers.  

July's receipt is also the lowest monthly remittance inflow in at least four fiscal years, according to the provisional figures from the central bank.

Bangladesh received $1.4 billion in remittance in July last year.

Remittance inflow from the Middle Eastern countries declined 5.17 percent year-on-year to $8.55 billion in fiscal 2015-16.

About 68 percent of Bangladeshi migrant workers reside in the Gulf Cooperation Council countries -- Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates -- which have been hit by the slump in oil prices.

Oil price crashed to a historic low in January this year from an all-time high in mid-2014.

Remittance slipped 2.54 percent year-on-year to $14.93 billion last fiscal year, as weak oil prices forced many Middle Eastern countries to cancel development projects and weakened the demand for migrant workers.

Remittance from the Middle East countries fell due to their currencies' depreciation against the dollar, said Zahid Hussain, lead economist of the World Bank's Dhaka office, last month.

Although remittance flow dropped last fiscal year, the outflow of migrant workers jumped more than 62 percent year-on-year to 6.84 lakh.

There are about 70 lakh Bangladeshis currently working abroad, according to official statistics.