GCC Worker Remittances to Foreign Destinations Reach $131.5 Billion

The volume of workers' remittances from GCC countries is the highest globally. Asharq Al-Awsat
The volume of workers' remittances from GCC countries is the highest globally. Asharq Al-Awsat
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GCC Worker Remittances to Foreign Destinations Reach $131.5 Billion

The volume of workers' remittances from GCC countries is the highest globally. Asharq Al-Awsat
The volume of workers' remittances from GCC countries is the highest globally. Asharq Al-Awsat

The total remittances of workers in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries to foreign destinations amounted to $131.5 billion by the end of 2023, according to the latest data released by the GCC Statistical Center.

The volume of workers' remittances from GCC countries is the highest globally, followed by remittances from the United States

The center's report indicated that this marked a decrease by approximately $0.5 billion compared to 2022, a 0.4 percent decline. This comes after significant increases recorded in 2021 and 2022, which saw growth rates of 9.2 percent and 3.8 percent, respectively.

The share of these remittances as a percentage of the GCC's Gross Domestic Product (GDP), at current prices, declined from 8.1 percent in 2020 to six percent in 2022, before experiencing a slight increase in 2023, settling at 6.2 percent.



Dollar Hobbled by Economic Worries; Euro Remains in Favor

US dollar drifted within a tight range on Monday, pressured by lower Treasury yields - Reuters
US dollar drifted within a tight range on Monday, pressured by lower Treasury yields - Reuters
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Dollar Hobbled by Economic Worries; Euro Remains in Favor

US dollar drifted within a tight range on Monday, pressured by lower Treasury yields - Reuters
US dollar drifted within a tight range on Monday, pressured by lower Treasury yields - Reuters

The dollar hovered near a five-month low against major peers on Monday, bruised by President Donald Trump's erratic trade policies and soft economic data, at a time when other currencies, including the euro, benefit from domestic drivers.

The euro was last at $1.0905, up 0.2% on the day, and heading back towards the $1.0947 it hit last week, its highest since October 11.

The Japanese yen was also marginally stronger on the day at 148.48 per dollar, again after hitting its strongest in five months last week at 146.5 to the dollar.

That left the dollar index, which measures the US currency against its six major counterparts, at 103.5, just off its five-month trough of 103.21 reached last Tuesday, Reuters reported.

Currency markets have undergone a shift in recent months, as traders re-evaluate their initial expectations that Trump's economic policies would both support the dollar and cause other currencies to weaken.

In fact the reverse has happened, and analysts at Societe Generale said on Monday that they had changed their currency forecasts "to reflect Germany's planned fiscal changes, the US economy's self-inflicted (relative) fragility, and Japan’s escape from deflation".

They see the euro at $1.13 by year-end and the yen at 139 per dollar.