Central Bank of Uzbekistan forecasts growth of remittances from Russia

BAKU, Azerbaijan, July 31 By Ilkin Seyfaddini - Trend: The Central Bank of Uzbekistan expects the country's remittances to reach $5.5 billion by the end of 2020, Trend reports citing the bank’s report. "Due to the weakening of COVID-19 related quarantine measures in Russia and the resumption of economic activity, remittances from this country to Uzbekistan are expected to be close to last year's level in the coming months. By 2020, total remittances are predicted to be 8-10 percent lower than last year," the report says. According to the Central Bank, some labor migrants were unable to travel abroad due to the suspension of international activity. Moreover national currencies of Russia and Kazakhstan depreciated significantly in March due to a sharp drop in oil prices, and production and construction in some countries were partially halted during quarantine. As a result, cross-border remittances to the country amounted to $2.4 billion in the first half of 2020, down 156 million or six percent from the corresponding period in 2019. However, the decline in remittances was mainly in March (-23 percent) and April 2020 (-42 percent). Remittances started to recover in May 2020, and in June they were 11.2 percent higher than in June 2019. --- Follow author on Twitter: @seyfaddini