Wednesday, 31 December 2008

Kenya forex remittances up 7 percent in Jan-Nov 2008

Tue 30 Dec 2008, 13:59 GMT
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NAIROBI (Reuters) - Foreign exchange remittances by Kenyans abroad totalled $571 million over Jan-Nov, a 7 percent increase over the $532 million sent during the same period last year, central bank statistics showed on Tuesday.

Remittances have become a leading source of hard currency along with tourism, horticulture and tea exports. They totalled $573.6 million in 2007.

Kenyans send money back home typically to invest in stocks and real estate or to help families.

Flower and vegetable exports earned $1 billion last year while tea sales brought in $572 million. But these earnings could drop this year due to the global financial crisis.

Typically, Kenya's currency is affected day-to-day by fluctuations in dollar supply from tourism, agricultural exports and remittances on one hand and demand by importers on the other. Source

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