Central Bank of the Dominican Republic reports USD 3,917.4 million in remittances in January to April 2025, up 12.1% year on year

The Central Bank of the Dominican Republic published updated remittance figures showing inflows of USD 3,917.4 million between January and April 2025, a 12.1% increase compared with the same period a year earlier. Remittances received in April totalled USD 954.6 million, up 11.0% year on year. In April, 82.7% of formal remittance inflows originated in the United States, equivalent to USD 724.4 million, alongside inflows from Spain of USD 53.8 million or 6.1% of the total and shares of 1.2% each from Italy, Haiti and Switzerland. The central bank linked the remittance performance to elevated international uncertainty and highlighted selected US indicators, including an unemployment rate of 4.2% and an ISM non-manufacturing purchasing managers index reading of 51.6, as well as the role of US tax refunds in supporting diaspora sending capacity. The release also reported that, in April, 37.5% of remittances were received in the National District, followed by Santiago at 13.0% and Santo Domingo at 8.0%, with metropolitan areas accounting for 58.5% in total. For January to March, it cited tourism receipts of USD 3,250.4 million, total exports of USD 3,442.8 million and foreign direct investment inflows of USD 1,362.7 million, alongside an average weighted selling exchange rate of DOP 58.96 per USD as of 9 May 2025 and international reserves above USD 15.0 billion, equal to 11.9% of GDP and 5.5 months of imports; it projected 2025 remittances of around USD 11.0 billion and total foreign currency earnings above USD 45.6 billion.