Remittances to Mexico see biggest drop in 13 years

Economy, anti-migrant policies blamed for biggest drop in 13 years

08:41 AM CST on Friday, March 7, 2008

By ALFREDO CORCHADO / The Dallas Morning News
acorchado@dallasnews.com

MEXICO CITY – Remittances to Mexico were down nearly 6 percent in January, the biggest drop in 13 years, which experts attributed to a downturn in the U.S. economy and anti-immigrant policies.

In its report this week, Mexico's central bank, known as the Bank of Mexico, said remittances fell to $1.65 billion in January from $1.76 billion a year earlier, signaling the biggest decline since the bank began recording remittances in 1995. Remittances are the second-biggest source of foreign currency inflows behind oil exports for Mexico, though they comprise just about 3 percent of the country's gross domestic product. [Read more]