Kenyans living in diaspora sent home Sh. 52.2 billion in the month of May, data from the Central Bank of Kenya for the month of May shows.
The data that is contained in the Central Bank of Kenya’s Weekly Bulletin that was released last week shows that remittance inflows from Kenyans living and working abroad remained strong amounting to USD 404.4 million (Sh. 52.2 billion at an exchange rate of 129 to the US dollar) in May 2024, compared to USD 352.1 million (Sh. 45.4 billion) in May 2023, an increase of 14.9 per cent.
At the same time, the cumulative inflows for the 12 months to May 2024 totaled USD 4,509 million compared to USD 3,997 million in a similar period in 2023, which represented an increase of 12.8 per cent.
The United States remained the largest source of remittances to Kenya, accounting for 48 per cent of the total inflows from Kenyans living and working abroad in May 2024. The other top sources of remittances included Canada, the United Kingdom, Germany, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Australia.
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The bulletin by the CBK further showed that as at June 13, 2024, the CBK Usable Foreign Exchange Reserves stood at USD7.01 billion. This was adequate enough to provide 3.7 months of import cover. “This meets the CBK’s statutory requirement to endeavor to maintain at least 4 months of import cover,” the CBK stated.
This was, however, a slight increase from the coverage of 3.6 months in the first week of June where foreign exchange reserves stood at USD6.98 billion.
On the exchange rate for the local currency against the greenback, the CBK stated that the shilling remained stable and even gained against the US dollar.
“The Kenya Shilling remained stable against major international and regional currencies during the week ending June 13. It exchanged at Sh. 128.46 per US dollar on June 13, compared to Sh. 130.72 per US dollar on June 6,” the CBK stated.
