February 8 (SeeNews) - Remittances to Moldova by migrant workers rose 11% on the year to $1.199 billion (971.4 million euro) in 2017, the central bank, BNM, said on Thursday.
In December alone, remittances grew by 13% on the year and by 0.9% on the month to $105.23 million.
In 2017, money transfers from Moldovan workers in the EU countries accounted for 34% of the total volume of remittances, BNM said in a statement. The share of remittances from the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) reached 34.9%, while 30.7% came from other states.
Most of the money transfers, 49.9%, were made in US dollars, followed by transfers in euro, 40.9% and in Russian rubles, 9.2%.
An estimated one-third of Moldova's economically active population is currently working abroad, making remittances the single most important net source of foreign exchange in Moldova.
The foreign exchange reserves held by Moldova's central bank increased by $100.2 million net in January, reaching $2.903 billion.
($ = 0.8102 euro)