January 25 (SeeNews) - Remittances to Moldova by migrant workers rose 5.6% on the year to $1.266 billion (1.11 billion euro) in 2018, the central bank, BNM, said on Friday.
In December alone, remittances fell by 9.3% on the year to $96.3 million.
Money transfers from Moldovan workers in the EU countries made up 42% of the total volume of remittances in December, BNM said in a statement. The share of remittances from the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) reached 25.6%, while 32.4% came from other states.
Most of the money transfers, 51.2%, were made in euro, followed by transfers in US dollars, 43% and in Russian rubles, 5.8%.
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.
Remittances sent to Moldova by migrant workers rose 11.1% on the year to $1.199 billion in 2017.
($ = 0.8805 euro)